How I Died
by Dr. Bessy
Summary: Everything changed when the accident happened ten years before. For years, Max has had to raise her little brother, Ari, up from infantry under the roof of an abusive father who beat her and Ari every night. She survives only because somebody has to take care of Ari. But when a stranger who can take care of Ari comes along, will Max live her life or end it for without purpose?
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Hey peeps! This is my very first story and I really don't want all of y'all to hate it, so instead of hating it, ENJOY AND REVIEW(basically tell me what I did wrong-and I most likely did A LOT of things wrong-and what you liked and what you think I should keep doing!) So yeah, I'm gonna end this with enjoy. ENJOY!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or any of the characters involved in this except for the occasional I might create later on.**

"Max! Max! Oh, please wake up, don't leave me! I need you Max!" My seven-year-old brother, Ari, shouts to me as I lay on the ground motionless. "Please, Max, get up! This isn't funny!" Ari begins to shake me repeatedly, trying to wake me from my "slumber".

The police and paramedics soon arrive and whisk me to a hospital. There is a policewoman trying in vain to comfort Ari as the paramedics load me into the truck while simultaneously they work frantically to keep my heart beating.

I watch this all in a confused daze from above everybody. I see my body lying in a stretcher. I see Ari clinging onto the police woman for dear life. I see my best friends, Iggy and Nudge, huddling together and crying. Worst of all, I see my new-found love, Fang, clinging desperately to my hand, shouting for me to get up and to live when he knows that I obviously can't. Tears are stinging in his eyes and his voice cracks every time he yells at me to get up, trying to convince my lifeless body that I have to live, that I have to keep on going.

But I can't. I have tried for so long to keep on moving, to keep on pushing life back when life pushes me. But now, I just can't.

The paramedics have attached a heart monitor up to me and as I expect it to happen, the monitor goes into a steady flat line. The last thing I see is Fang cupping my face into his hands with his tears flowing down my face. My world goes black.

My name was Maximum Ride, and this is the story of how I died.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Hello, Earthlings. Take me to your leader. I'm sorry, I just feel like saying that cuz I'm in an alien mood and I'm about to watch my favorite show, Doctor Who. So here is my next chapter where you guys will learn a little about what happened to Max after that cliffhanger from yours truly. Thank you guys so much for the reviews and I hope you like this next chapter. ENJOY!**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters in this book. If I did I would be a millionaire and have a life, but since I do not have either of those it's proof of me not owning anything besides the story plot line and this computer.**

I wasn't always gloom-and-doom. I used to have friends, a wonderful family, and an amazing life. But that all changed after the accident, leaving me with my abusive father-Jeb-a little brother in need of taking care of-Ari-and me, being the loner I am-was-with no friends and no life.

The accident happened ten years ago in the middle of winter. My mom, Valencia Ride, was driving me home from a choir concert and we were arguing. Times were tough, with my mom and me always fighting over the littlest of things, whether it is what flavor of ice cream is better than the other or the many reasons on why or why not I should ship Ari to Alaska in a postal box. It was petty, I know, but I was only eight, you can't expect me to be thinking about saving the world, now can you?

Anyway, we were arguing on whether I did a good job at my solo. I personally thought that I did great while my mom thought that I messed up on my high note. She was so focused on me that she didn't notice the swerving truck rumbling down the road. The truck slid on a patch of ice and capsized, colliding into our car. We had been driving next to a hill and under the hill was a crowded forest. The truck pushed our car down the hill and into the forest. The farther we tumbled down, the denser the trees were. We eventually stopped rolling and at that point we were upside down. My mom hung off of her seat belt limply and I was barely semiconscious.

I slid through my seat belt and landed on the inner roof of the car. I tried to unbuckle my mom's seat belt but it was jammed. My parents were VERY protective people so my mom kept a licensed pistol in her purse at all times while my dad kept his in a safe in their room. They thought that I didn't know about it, but, being the sneak I was, I eventually found out.

I took the gun in my hand and was about to fire off her seat belt when a police officer grabbed me by my waist and hoisted me out of the broken passenger side window. I dropped the gun and focused on screaming and kicking out of the officer's hands. By that point the car had started to catch fire because the gas tanks exploded on impact.

I was dragged up the hill and when we got to the top, the whole forest was on fire. I stared out at the fire blankly as the officer tried to console me of how sorry she was for my loss. Even back then I knew that her sorry act was a load of bullshit.

For months after the accident I was in a daze. I didn't talk to my dad or any of my friends. At first my "friends" gave me time to cope with my mom's death, but later they turned into a bunch of jerks and left me for a bunch of popular douche bags.

Jeb resorted to booze after Mom died. The more he drank, the angrier he got at Ari and me until one day he snapped and slapped me. Even though I knew that eventually he would start hitting me, it still came as a shock. He got worse and worse and started to hit Ari, and I would try to take as much hits from Jeb as possible.

School wasn't any better. The place was overrun by a bunch of morons in pink skirts that showed off a little bit too much and mindless jocks who would do anything for a bit of skin. But that's high school for you. I was just counting the seconds until I could leave my little town in Nowheresville, USA. At least that was until Fang and his whack-job of a family showed up into my life.

_**So what do you guys think about this chapter? I might make another chapter later today, depends on what how busy I'm gonna be. So I hoped you guys liked it and PLZ REVIEW. And remember, all of my fellow Fanfictioners, watch the skies.**_

_**Dr. Bessy**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys! I'm bored, my life is dull, and so what did I do about it? I MADE A NEW CHAPPY! FOR YOU GUYS! I really hope that you guys like it and I wanna thank you guys for the reviews and for the views. Just a reminder, plz follow this story, review, and be awesome! And it would REALLY help if someone answered some of my questions about junk. For now on, I might just ask a random question from my insane brain and I would love if u guys would answer it as weird as possible! Question 1: Why do country singers' voices always crack?**_

_**Question 2: What is a beta reader?**_

_**Question 3: Why am I asking these questions?"**_

_**So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please, please, PLEASE review and follow! ENJOY!**_

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Maximum Ride or any of the characters in this story. I do not own a house, a car, or a life. I do own this plot line and this computer, though. So I guess it's a win win!**

**1 Year before My Death**

"Maximum Ride, get your ass down here, NOW!" Jeb's words were slurred so badly that you could hardly tell them apart. Ari and I could hear Jeb lumber up the steps from the closet we were hiding in. When Jeb was sober he was harmless, when he was drunk he was reckless, but it was when he was mad AND drunk that's when the real danger happened. Right now, he was just drunk, but I knew that it wouldn't last.

Jeb slipped on one of the stairs and fell all the way back down on his ass to the bottom. He let out a bellow and charged up the stairs screaming, "MAX!"

Meanwhile, Ari and I scrunched up deeper into the closet and held our breath. Jeb looked around wildly, trying to get a clue of where we were. The closet where we were hiding had been my mom's Junk Closet where she would stash her useless junk that she was too lazy to throw away. We hadn't used it since she died so it was pretty dusty. Whenever Ari and I hid from Jeb in here, we would have to cover our noses so that we wouldn't inhale the dust and sneeze.

Ari coughed silently into his arm and right when he took his sleeve away from his nose, he inhaled the dust. His sneeze was a cute baby sneeze but it still echoed in the dead silence of the closet and hallway. Jeb must have heard it because his footsteps stopped. The floorboards creaked in our direction, indicating that Jeb was turning towards the closet. Jeb began to slowly walk towards the closet door, the floor creaking loudly in the calm before the storm. His footsteps stopped right in front of the closet door. There was a moment that everything was still, but that moment quickly passed.

Jeb yanked the closet door open, revealing our hidden figures. I tackled Jeb as a distraction while Ari ran into our room and locked the door. My tackle had taken Jeb by surprise, but he quickly recovered. He grabbed my hair and pulled me to the top of the staircase, then pushed me down the stairs. I landed on my back, gasping for breath, as Jeb towered over me. He again grabbed my hair as if it were a leash and dragged me to the kitchen where the fridge was open.

"Do you know why I called you?" he slurred as he struggled for balanced. Afraid that my voice might fail me, I just shook my head. "Look at the fridge," he demanded. When I didn't comply right away with his command he yanked my hair back painfully so that I would look at the fridge. "What do you see?" Before I could shrug my shoulders, he said, "You know what I see? NO BEER!" He screamed as he slammed my head into the counter top by the refrigerator. I saw nothing but stars in the shape of Jeb's corrupt face. I was sprawled out onto the floor and as I was starting to regain my bearings, Jeb began to viciously kick me in the stomach. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. The only thing I COULD do was feel the pain in massive waves rolling all over my body, increasing with every kick.

By the time Jeb was done with his beating, I was curled up in the fetal position with a few broken ribs, a split lip, blood coming out of my ears, and I was pretty sure my foot was at the LEAST sprained. Jeb spit on me and as he climbed up the stairs he yelled, "I'm gonna catch some shut eye. If I don't see you in the morning, make sure you get some more beer when you come home. If you don't, there will be some consequences, young lady. Nighty, nighty."

I stayed on the floor for who knows how long, until Ari crept down the stairs quietly with a First Aid Kit. Once he says me, he rushed down and led me up to our room. There, he wrapped my ribs, made a splint for my ankle, and wrapped my head.

"Ari?" I whispered while he fixed me up.

"Hmm?" He asked as he worked.

"How would you like it if when I turn eighteen in a year, you and me hit the road?" He stopped then and looked at me with big eyes.

"Can we do it?" He asked quietly, pleading with his eyes that it be so. I nod my head and he gave me the first real smile in a long while. He jumped into my arms, making me wince, but I didn't really mind.

"We do it the night of my eighteenth birthday, OK?" Even when he didn't respond, I knew that he was happy. We stopped hugging and lied in my bed, dreaming about what we would do once we were free from this hell hole. If only we knew what would happen on that night….

_**So, yeah that's my chappy for you guys! I really hope that you enjoyed it and PLEASE, FOR PETE'S SAKE REVIEW AND FOLLOW! But even if you don't, I'll still like you guys for reading my story. And remember, my fellow Fanfictioners, watch the skies.**_

_**Doctor Bessy**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey, y'all! Thanks for the views and such! Although I would REALLY appreciate some more comments, I am still pretty happy about all the views! I already have the last chapter written down that will reveal what the heck happened to Max. So the more reviews that I get-even if they're pointless-the faster I will get to the end of this story. So, yeah, besides that, I hope you guys really enjoy this chappy and PLEASE REVIEW AND FOLLOW!**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own MR, I don't own any of the characters, and I don't own a life or any friends. PSYCH! I have friends, but you don't! I kid, I kid. Sort of. Oh well! ENJOY!**

**11 months and 29 days Before Death**

"Ari, it's safe to go now," I whisper behind me to where he is standing and he rushes over to my side. Like mice, we scurry across the living room and escape the dark clutches that used to be our home but now were a hell hole. Once the door is shut, we race down the ten blocks between my house and school. Ari beats me to the doors because of my sprained ankle and holds the doors for me like a little gentleman. As I pass, he gives me a mock bow and I reply with a curtsy. Eastdale High School-my school-and Eastdale Middle School-Ari's school-were connected and they were right down the street from Eastdale Auto Shop, Eastdale Tech, Eastdale Burger Hut, and Eastdale Marketplace. As you can guess, we live in Eastdale.

Anyway, I watched as Ari's small figure retreated to the door that separated our schools. Once I couldn't see him anymore, I limped through the halls to my locker and slumped against it.

"Fat."

"Ugly."

"Stupid."

"Disappointment."

"Curse."

The words that Jeb usually spit at me whenever he beats me kept on echoing in my head. They formed a wall made of steel that was a barrier between me and peace of mind. The longer I sat there, the louder the words became until they were a lurid chant, each scream of each word adding to my growing headache. I clamped my hands down on my ears in a vain attempt to block the voices out. But how can you block out voices when they are in your head? I screwed my eyes tight and prayed that the voices would stop soon.

"Max. Max. MAX!" My eyes snapped open to see Iggy shaking my shoulders madly.

Remember how I said that I had no friends? Well, I lied. My ONLY friend (emphasis on ONLY) was Iggy. He and I have been best friends since before the accident, and when I was losing all my other friends, he stuck by my side. We told each other everything and we went through everything with each other. Iggy was basically my big brother, the only one that I could go to for comfort.

"Max, what the hell was that? Are you okay?" Iggy's look of concern almost made me spill my guts about the whole being abused thing. And you know how I just said that we told each other everything? Well, I lied again. You should know by now that I lie A LOT about things. But what can you expect from a girl who gets beaten every night?

Anyway, AGAIN, I feared telling Iggy about how Jeb beat me not because I thought he would go to the police, but because I was afraid that he would try to beat the shit out of Jeb, and THEN go to the police. And if he went to the police that would mean me and Ari would be put in foster care. And that would mean that Ari would get adopted for sure because of his absolute ADORABSNESS-and yes in my vocabulary, adorabsness is a word, so don't you judge-while I would be stuck going from foster home to foster home, meaning that I would never get to see Ari again, and a life without Ari is not a life worth living.

So as Iggy looked at me with big eyes full of concern, I had to bite my tongue and say, "Nothing."

A fresh wave of guilt washed over me for lying to my best and only friend and it must have been evident on my face because Iggy raised an eyebrow and studied me closely, otherwise known as Iggy's "you-are-a-terrible-liar-and-I-don't-believe-you-one-bit" face. I fidgeted under his intense gaze, and seeing my discomfort, Iggy didn't push it. Instead, he held out a hand for me to get up from the floor. I graciously took it and gave him a weak smile which he returned with his famous grin. We walked-well, Iggy walked while I limped-into the classroom just as the bell rang for class to begin.

I sat next to Iggy in the back left-hand corner of the room with one empty seat beside me that no one dared to take. I slid into my seat and took out my notebook and furiously started writing, blocking everybody else out.

**FANG POV**

As I walked through the classroom, I saw the dull of faces that just about every single high school student in America replicated. Blank faces and eyes incapable of learning anything. Slouching posture and lazy gazes roaming around the room.

"Good morning, class! Today we have a new student named…" the teacher, Ms. Flores, hinted for me to say my name.

"Nick Martinez." I said-more of a grunt really-as the Ms. Flores nodded.

She continued on with telling the class how they were supposed to be nice to me and all that crap, but I zoned her out. Instead, I focused on where to sit. In every high school, there is always groups that sit together. It's just predictable. Just by looking at all these mindless buffoons, I know that the nerds and geeks sit up front, the jocks sit in the middle, and the sluts sit right behind the jocks. In each of these groups, there is always a leader. From my guess, I would say that the tall lanky kid with mouse hair in the center front is King of the Outcasts, the overly toned dude in the blue letterman jacket surrounded by red letterman jackets is Jock-zilla, and the red-head with the pink mini skirt and practically see through tank is the Slut Queen.

Like I said, predictable. It all added up in my head except for one thing. There was a girl in the very back corner. She definitely wasn't a slut based on her gray hoodie and stained jeans, not a geek because she wasn't paying attention to Ms. Flores in the least, and for sure not a jock 'cause if you compared her to a toothpick, she would be skinnier. But she wasn't a Nobody either. She had blonde hair with sun streaked highlights, high cheek bones, chocolate eyes, meaning she was H-O-T HOT. And there was something about her that just pulled me in, made me wants to just sit and stare into her eyes for an eternity. But the question was: Who was she?"

"Nick, would you please take a seat…" Ms. Flores scanned the room in search for an empty chair. "Right next to Maximum Ride." Ms. Flores's finger landed right on the empty seat next to the girl I had been admiring. I shuffled forward and sat in my seat just as Ms. Flores turned around and began to drone on about Physics.

"Psst."

I raised an eyebrow and looked to my left at the girl next to me.

"Let's get one thing straight here," she hissed as she leaned in so close that our noses were practically touching. I could smell her strawberry shampoo and concealer_** (AUTHOR: Is it possible to smell concealer? If it is, cool. If it isn't, fuck it)**_. "I don't like you. I don't like how you look, how you walk, how you move, or even how you breathe. Don't look, smell, see, hear, touch, or even breathe in the same air space as I am. Got that?" Her once chocolate eyes turned dark and stormy as her face morphed into a crude mask of secrets.

I nodded my head and she backed off ever so slightly. I returned my attention back to Ms. Flores but I couldn't pay any attention to her as I tried to shake the uneasy feeling I got from seeing my desk neighbor's eyes.

"Psst."

I tried to block out the girl and it worked for a while, but you can only ignore something for so long before you get something thrown at you. In this case, it was a crumpled up piece of paper.

I picked up the piece of paper and tossed it back to the girl. I ignored her chuckles and tried in vain to focus on the lesson. Again she tossed the paper at me.

"What do you want?" I hissed at her in annoyance and gave her my death glare.

Instead of doing what most people who get my death glare, which was to back off, she just smirked.

"I'm Maximum Ride, by the way, but everybody calls me Max." She stuck out her hand for me to shake, and after a moment's pause, I took it.

"Nick Walker, but call me Fang." Her grin was so wide, I thought that her face would split in two. The guy next to her leaned over her and stuck out his fist.

As I pounded it, he said, "Nice to meet you, Fang. I'm Iggy."

And that was how I met Max and Iggy.

_**So…yeah. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in like a week. But I have an excuse for it. I got this swanky disease called Laziness and it prevents me from doing anything productive or remotely related to work, including writing a chappy. In fact, it's a miracle that I'm writing this right now. So, anyway, READ, REVIEW, AND FOLLOW. DON'T FORGET TO ANSWER MY IDIOTIC QUESTIONS. **_

_**Watch the skies,**_

_**Doctor Bessy.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey guys! You guys are AMAZ-BALLZ!(And yes I said amaz-ballz, don't judge me) Besides being amazing, you know what else you guys are? AWESOME! You know what I am? A DIPSHIT. And you know why I'm a dipshit? BECAUSE I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN, LIKE, THREE WEEKS AND I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! *releasing breath tiredly* Phew. That was a mouthful! ANYWAY, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and as thanks to all of y'all, I'm going to try to update again tomorrow! This chappy will also be really long just for you wonderful people! I LOVE YOU! ENJOY!**_

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own MR. I DO NOT own any of the characters. I DO NOT own a life. There I said it, happy now?**

**11 MONTHS 10 DAYS BEFORE MY DEATH**

**Max POV**

"Guys, I'm home!" Fang practically screamed as he entered his AMAZING house. Normally, I'm not impressed easily, but when I first stepped through his front door, my mouth dropped down to the floor.

Through the front door is an indoor water fountain (like the ones you see at the mall sometimes). There are 6 bedrooms, 2 guest rooms, an arcade, a TV room, an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool, a golf course, and a kitchen the size of my house. All together, the Walker's own about 5 or 6 acres of land.

Anyway, back to the story. Fang left the door gaping open for me, Ari, and Iggy to follow. Even though I had been there about a kabillion times, the place still amazed me.

"Hey Max!" called Ella as she slid down a winding banister. Ella is Fang's 16-year-old little sister. Right after Ella is Nudge, Ella's twin, Gazzy, a 12-year-old pyromaniac (courtesy of Iggy), and the adorable one of the family, little 8-year-old Angel, whom Ari absolutely ADORE.

"OMG! MAX AND IGGY ARE HERE!" Nudge shrieked as she flew down the steps and gave us an eager smile. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS ARE ACTUALLY HERE! IT'S LIKE WE HAVEN'T SEEN EACH OTHER IN FOREVER, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS, BUT FOREVER IS A REALLY LONG TIME! ANYWAY, WE SHOULD TOTALLY HANG OUT! BUT WHAT DO WE DO?! SHOULD WE PLAY A GAME, WATCH A MOVIE, EAT POPCORN, PLAY TABOO-" Nudge was going to say more but thankfully Iggy slapped a hand over her mouth. But hey, that's Nudge for you, always the talker.

"Nudge. Chill. The last time we hung out was YESTERDAY!" I ground out in exasperation.

"MLHASDFFAGFALHKWHSLAWEFKLDG," Nudge tried to speak through Iggy's hand, but as you may have guessed, she failed miserably.

"What?" Ella asked.

Nudge just rolled her eyes and slapped Iggy's hand away from her. "I SAID, 'but it seemed like forever to me'. God, can't you people understand English?!" At this we all rolled our eyes in unison.

_Plunk, plunk, plunk._

Pink and purple shoes plopped down the staircase. At the base was little Angel in a pink tutu and purple blouse. While everybody simply said "Hey" and went into the kitchen, Ari just stared at her like a dork stares at a brand-new top-of-the-line calculator (_**Author's Note: Ok, so I'm not calling anybody a geek or a dork or a nerd or saying that all geeks, dorks, and nerds love calculators more than they love people. I am not trying to be offensive in anyway. This was just the best simile that I could come up with. Don't judge me.) **_

"H-h-hi, Angel." Ari stuttered as his cheeks flamed red.

"Hey, Ari! Do ya wanna play with me?" Angel asked with her usual brilliant smile.

"Sure!" Angel skipped away and Ari practically floated behind her. I shook my head and went into the kitchen.

"What do you guys want to do?" I asked.

"Guys, we should TOTALLY watch [Rec]! I hear it's SKIN-CRAWLINGLY TERRIFYING!" Nudge exclaimed as she bounced up and down on her toes.

"But Nudge, you hate horror films." Fang said.

"I know! Isn't it GREAT!" Nudge began to bounce on her toes even more ecstatically. I honestly think that that girl is on crack.

"Ok, then," I said uncertainly. "I guess we can watch [Rec] if you really want to, Nudge."

"I'll get the popcorn." Ella skipped into the kitchen.

"I'll get the junk food." Iggy muttered as he followed Ella.

"I'll get the movie." Nudge sprinted upstairs to Fang's room.

"And I'll-" I started to walk into the living room-"do nothing." I finished as I plopped onto the extremely comfy sofa. Fang sat beside. As I sat there, I noticed how different the two of us were. I slouched. Fang sat perfectly straight on the edge of the chair. I blabbed my mouth until it got me into trouble (which it always does), Fang was the strong and silent type. And that's just what he was. Strong. And another thing I realized then was that no matter how messed up I would become, Fang would always be there for me. And now that I think about it, I think that that moment was when I started to fall in love with my best friend.

*****3 DAYS LATER*****

The beatings were getting worse. Although the change was small, it was still noticeable. Jeb had begun to beat Ari and me more viciously than before.

I stared at myself in the mirror. There were bruises all over the right side of my face. Most of them were small patches of darkened skin, but there was one in particular that stood out more than the rest. It trailed from my cheekbone all the way down past my collar bone and ended at my chest area.

_That's probably from when Jeb whacked me with a baseball bat._ I thought as I applied extra heavily concealer onto the bruise. My hands were shaking from the memory of the pain. Last night had been the worst beating I had ever endured in my life. It happened like this:

_Ari and I had just stepped through the door and onto the threshold of our house when Jeb came in behind us and slammed the door shut._

"_You were out late, weren't you, sweeties." His voice was slurred, so I knew that he had been drinking._

"_I-I-I'm sorry. It wo-won't happen again." I stuttered as he backed me and Ari into a corner. His figure towered over us. "I swear." I whispered faintly. _

_He looked at the two of us and gave us a smile but it didn't go up to his eyes. "I know it won't." His cold eyes burrowed into my soul as he took out a baseball bat from behind his back._

_And right when he looked the most victorious was when he was the most vulnerable._

_I took a step forward and kicked him in the balls. "RUN, ARI!" I screamed, and the little midget shot past me like a bullet._

"_YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Jeb screamed and he grabbed my waist when I tried to make a run for it. He spun me around and punched me so hard that I could see stars. I was hurled across the room by the force of his punch and I hid the wall with a THUD. In my daze, Jeb managed to tie me down. When I could finally make sense of what was going on, I was too late and Jeb had me secured. _

_Suddenly, Jeb was knocked back by a force. Ari stood over me in a protective manner. _

"_Leave Max alone." Ari was trying to fill his voice with steel, but there was still a slight quiver in it. __**(Author's Note: Ok, I already know that there are gonna be some haters out there asking in the comments why the heck didn't Ari go hide. Well, before anybody does say that, think about it. Your sister, YOUR PROTECTOR, the ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD besides you who knows about what happens at home is getting beaten senseless and tied down by your maniac of a father while you're only supposed to run away and hide! What's the justice in THAT?! I don't know about you, but I would want to fight back and protect my sis. Just saying.)**_

"_Ignorant boy! You should have run while you had the chance!" Jeb grabbed Ari by the hair and dragged him into living room where I had a perfect view of the beating that would follow._

_Jeb began to beat Ari as if he were the cause of all his problems. All the while I was wriggling, trying to get to Ari and help him._

"_NO! STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE! IT'S ME THAT YOU WANT! PLEASE, STOP!" I screamed at the man who was supposed to be my father when he was really nothing but a monster._

_After a couple of minutes, Jeb paused and looked at me with shining eyes of hate. At this point, Ari was nothing more than a bloodied, badly bruised pulp._

"_See, Max." Jeb said. "This is what happens when you try to save someone you care about. You always fail." And with that Jeb slammed Ari's head down on the coffee table. I sat there, shell-shocked because what Jeb had said actually was true. I always fail._

_Jeb strode over to me and I looked up at him blankly._

"_Good, you're not screaming anymore. I'd hate for you to have woken up the neighbors." He leaned down and patted my cheek. "You're a smart girl. You'll figure your way out of the ropes." And with that he tromped up the stairs._

I snapped out of my daze.

_Don't think about it, Max. If you don't think about it, it never happened._ But that's the thing. It _did_ happen. No matter how many times I told myself that it didn't, it did. And I would just have to deal with it.

"Max, you ok in there?" Nudge called outside of the bathroom stall.

"Er, yea. I was just thinking. I'll be out in a second!" I yelled back at her. I quickly applied as much concealer as natural and rushed out of the bathroom.

The gang had all come out from their respective shells and gathered at the Eastdale Mall-again, still live in Eastdale-and we were all just hanging out.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw Fang. The sight of him takes my breath away. He isn't exactly skinny, but he isn't completely a body builder. I could easily see his toned, lean muscles inside his black skull shirt. Over that he had a black leather jacket and skinny jeans. But his dark, nearly black eyes made me melt. To others they seemed hard and cruel. To me, they seemed soft and sweet.

_Stop it, Max! He's your BEST FRIEND! He will NEVER like someone like you!_ My brain told me. (Is it just me or is my brain a bitch?)

**Fang POV**

Oh, Max.

As we were hanging out at the mall, I kept glancing at her. I couldn't help it. She was just so poised and strong and confident in everything she did. Yet there was something in her eyes. Something that screamed for help. And whatever was going on, I would protect her from getting hurt. No matter what. Because that's just what you do when you're in love.

_**So yeah that's that! So I really hope you guys liked it. PLZ R&amp;R, READ AND REPLY! Cuz I would love to both get CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and to answer any questions that you might have about this story. Oh, and ViralWolf to answer your question, Max copes with it all because of Ari. Even though she is trying to be strong for him, in a way, she gets strength for him. Because without Ari, she would have long ago committed suicide. But somebody has to look after Ari, right? The real question is this: Is going to be Max, or somebody else? Well, on that cliffhanger, I'm gonna go! **_

_**Watch the skies,**_

_**Doctor Bessy.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey, peeps! Ok, I know I suck epically and that I'm the biggest douche dick that ever exsisted but bare with me I WILL finish this story by the end of the summer, I swear. But for now settle with this. And I just wanna say, thanks for all the views, support, and comments. Keep doin' what you do best! I LOVE YOU ALL! Here's the next chappy(I LOVE THAT WORD!) for y'all(THAT WORD TOO!)**_

**Disclaimer: I DO not own MR, I DID not create these characters, I DON'T have a sandwich, but I wish I did for all three!**

**10 MONTHS 26 DAYS UNTIL DEATH**

**Max POV**

"Hey, Max!" Iggy yelled as he and Gazzy raced forward. It was Saturday, the one day of the week where Jeb actually goes out instead of staying home all day(on Saturdays he usually goes to strip clubs and gets even more wasted than he does at home) and Ari and I had the house all to ourselves. Normally, we would have stayed home all day doing nothing but tending to our wounds, but that day, I had gotten sick and tired of the house and decided to take a walk while Ari hung out with Angel at Fang's place, hence how Iggy and the Gasman caught up to me.

"What's up gu-" I was about to complete the sentence when I saw that dangerous look in their eyes. The same look whenever they're about to create a bomb or…

"Please don't tell me that you guys are going to blow something up." I blanked and gave them a disapproving glare. My glare must not have hidden the slight excitement at the aspect of action because Gazzy and Iggy's shared grin was anything but pleasant.

"You know us too well, Maxie-Pad." Gazzy said, shaking his head.

"Don't call me that!" I slapped him upside the head.

"Why not? Both things are feminine. Max and Pad. Maxie-Pad!" Iggy explained, which earned another slap upside the head.

"Just tell me what you're gonna blow up now." I waited expectantly for an answer.

"Well, if you say so, Maxie-Pad." Gazzy shrugged and I growled. "Right, so you know that old warehouse on Madison Street?"

"Yea. Is that your guys' target?" I guessed.

"Yep. It's gonna be awesome!" Iggy and Gazzy high fived.

"Yea, yea. That's cool and all, but you guys know that they're going to be bulldozing that place and building a strip mall over it, right?" I asked.

"Of COURSE we know that? What do you take us for, idiots?" I must have looked really confused because Iggy leaned close to me, put a hand on my shoulder and said as slowly as possible, "We're getting PAID to blow it up."

"Say WHAT?!" I stared at the explosive duo(literally, they use dynamite) as if they were Martians(and I'm pretty sure that they are). They nodded eagerly at my response to this news. "Who in their right minds would pay you two to blow something up?"

"Yea, well we kind of can't take all the credit for this. You know the new kid, Dylan?" Iggy scratched his head nervously.

"Yea…" I replied uncertainly with an eyebrow raised.

"Well his dad kind of owns the right of construction for demolishing that place. And Dylan kind of convinced his dad to let us blow the building up on one condition…" Gazzy's right foot was tapping at rapid speed, a sign that showed that I wouldn't like what they said next.

"Dylan has to kind of get a girlfriend that his dad approves of by tomorrow. And so far none of the girl's he's brought home his dad approves of. That's where you come in." Iggy pointed to me and their plan gained form in my mind.

"Wait, wait, wait. You want ME to be Dylan's girlfriend." Iggy and Gazzy nodded their heads at lightning speed. "Well I'll-" I was about to say "yes" when an image of Fang in came to mind and without thinking I said, "have to pass. Sorry guys."

"But, Max, it will only be for one day!" Gazzy begged and I turned around and began to walk away.

"If you do this, um, you get a quarter of the money." Iggy shouted, which made me stop.

_It'll only be for one day. Besides why would Fang care if you went out with a guy?_ I thought.

"Half." I said.

"30%."

"Half."

"A 35%%."

"Half."

"One third, and that's our final offer." Iggy shouted. Knowing exactly how to win this, I shrugged and began to walk away.

_3-2-1…_

"Fine, half!"

"I'll do it." I smiled smugly at their frowns.

*****LATER ON IN THE DAY*****

Iggy and Gazzy dragged me to Dylan's house. No, no, no, house isn't the word to describe Dylan's crib. _Mansion_ is much more like it. The place is HUGE!

When we first arrived at the doorsteps, I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head. The place was about four stories tall and about five acres wide with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, golf course, and a awkwardsculpture of a chubby man baby pissing into a little pond.

As we stepped through the doorway we were greeted by a golden-laced grand staircase. Standing at the foot of the stairway was Dylan.

"One word for you: WOW. This place is beautiful!" I spread my arms out to point out the gold engravings in the staircase banner.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it." Dylan blushed and gave me a shy, sweet smile. He stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "Hi, my name is Dylan. It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine! The name's Maximum, but you can call me Max." As I shook his hand, I took a moment to study him. Dylan seemed the exact opposite of Fang. He had white blond hair, was very muscular, and had a warm smile. Despite his good looks and good natured air, when I looked at him I felt like there was something wrong.

"So this is the girl that Iggy and Gazzy have blabbed to me about, the famous Maximum Ride." Dylan twisted his body so that he could look at Gazzy and Iggy. "Hey, you guys lied to me! She isn't average looking at all. Not one bit." He twisted back to me and added, "She's actually quite beautiful."

My face was burning so bright red that I probably looked like a ripe tomato. "I-I'm-I'm not-" I stuttered, looking for the right words and failing miserably.

"Well, Max, it will be a pleasure working with you." Dylan reached down, took my hand, and gave it a tender kiss. I felt a shiver run up and down my arm, but it felt more cold than warm. There was something up with this guy and I intended to find out, and it seemed to me that pretending to be his girlfriend was the perfect way to do it.

**Alright guys, that's it for this chapter. I can't promise anything but I should be able to write another chapter in the next few days. Again I'm really sorry for forgetting to write and leaving you hanging. I STILL LOVE YOU ALL! PLZ BARE WITH ME! I PROMISE THAT IT WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE END! I LOVE YOU! COMMENT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, IDEAS, OR WANT TO BE CRITICAL(CONSTRUCTIVE ONLY, NONE OF THAT HATER CRAP) I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, dudes and duddets! This is yours truly, Doctor Bessy writing another chappy for you guys! And you know why? Cuz I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! All of you are beautiful people and don't you ever forget that. Even if the world calls you dickheads and shit ugly midgets, you are MY dickheads and shit ugly midgets, and I will personally kick any dude in the balls who says otherwise. And if it's a girl, well, I'll just punch her in the boobs or something. I DON'T KNOW! Anyway here's the next chapter! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer:**

**I'll keep this nice and easy. I don't own shit. I don't own the characters, I don't own MR, all that shit goes to James Patterson. What I DO own is this plot, and that's good enough for me.**

**10 MONTHS 25 DAYS UNTIL DEATH**

"Alright guys, you all know the plan?" Dylan asked as we finished discussing what our move was for that evening. We had all met up at Iggy's house to discuss the plan. The plan was simple and easy, not too elaborate, but not too simple, either. The perfect plan, it was fool proof. At least, that's what we thought, anyway. "Any questions?" When nobody said anything Dylan nodded and said, "Then that settles it. See you guys tonight." In a group we all walked out the door, down the driveway, and went our separate ways. Dylan headed back to his mansion to get prepped up for tonight, Iggy and Gazzy headed back inside to also get ready. And I, regrettably, started walking towards Fang's house.

Ten minutes later, I was standing at his front door regretting everything and making a mental will. I know what you're thinking. What's so bad about Fang's place? Why are you making a will? Are you (the audience) a part of that will? Well, to answer the first question, Nudge is what's so bad about Fang's place. And the plan was for me to get Nudge to girly me up for me and Dylan's "date". To answer the second question, I am allergic to all things girly. And I already know that what Nudge is about to do will give me a severe allergic reaction and I will most likely die from it. As for the last question, yes you readers actually are a part of this will. When I die, I give you this story to keep and cherish. And now, let's get back to my moment of dread.

I rang the doorbell, and after three seconds of silence from the other end of the door, I spun around and was about to step down from the doorway when I heard the door open.

"Max?" It was Fang's voice. "What are you doing here? I didn't know we were hanging out today."

I spun back around to look at him. Fang had very black hair, dark brown eyes, and although his facial features _seemed_ cold they weren't entirely. The thing about Fang is that his eyes melt in a way that burns all the cold from his face and replaces it with a buzzing warmth. I'm still not sure if I'm the only one who sees this or if everybody else does, too, but I hope that it's only me because when he looks at me I feel as if I can finally break down and cry without the fear of being beaten or the fear of making someone else cry. And I would hate it if everybody else saw that Fang's face like that as well.

"Well, actually Fang, I'm here to see Nudge," I said.

"What for?" Fang turned his head in a way to let me know that he was being stubbornly curious.

"I have to ask her to do me a favor," I pushed past him and started up the stairs towards Nudge's room.

"What's the favor?" Fang followed me up the stairs.

"None of your business," I put an edge to my voice to signal his curiosity off.

"'None of your business'? That doesn't sound like a favor. I think it's something that you don't want to tell me. And I ALWAYS find out what you don't want to tell me," Fang, ignoring my edgy voice, added, "one way or another." Then he wiggled his eyebrows.

_Oh yea, well if you "always" find out what I don't want to tell you, then how come you don't know that I'm being abused by my drunk dad? Hm, wise guy?_ I thought, but of course would never have said out loud. Instead I said, "Sure you do, Fang. Keep telling yourself that." I had reached Nudge's door, stepped inside, and was about to slam it shut when Fang's foot jammed in between the space. When he stepped into the room he was grinning like a maniac. "Hey, Nudge. I gotta ask you for a favor, in PRIVATE." I jerked my head towards Fang.

Fang probably made some gesture behind my back to bribe Nudge or something, because the next thing that came out of her mouth sent me fuming. "We ARE in private, Max. Whatever you have to say in front of me, you can say in front of my brother. 'Kay?"

Fang crossed the room and stood beside Nudge. Both were grinning devils.

"Fine," I ground out through clenched teeth. "Nudge, I need you to make me look…girly." I could hear Fang trying-and failing miserably-not to laugh.

"Why…?" Nudge asked cautiously. As I looked at her I saw a faint spark of hope that would probably ignite into a full on blaze when I said what I was about to say.

I looked at the ceiling and bit back the growing bile in my throat when I said, "Because I have a date tonight." Suddenly, Fang's laughter cut off and the room filled with stunned silence. I looked down to study their faces. Fang's eyes were the size of black golf balls and he looked like he was about to throw up. Inside I was smugly smiling thinking, _that's what the little bastard gets for butting into something he wasn't supposed to know._ But I probably looked every bit as green as Fang did. When I turned to Nudge, my eardrums burst with her earsplitting squeal of delight.

"YES! FINALLY! YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND! I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME!" Nudge screamed.

Ella, hearing Nudge's scream, came charging into the room, jumping up and down with joy. "Since when did you get a boyfriend?!" She asked me.

"Since, like, yesterday," I said with uncertainty. Based on the intense burning in my cheeks, I could tell that I had gone from tan to crimson.

"When and where did you guys meet?!" Nudge pressed, wanting to know all the "juicy" details.

"Well, we, um, kinda just met yesterday…but he seems nice…I think," I rung my neck and wished I was anywhere but there.

"Hold on. You just met a guy YESTERDAY and you're willing to call him your boyfriend! How stupid can you be?!" Fang's eyes turned stormy as he walked up to me with crossed arms and a disapproving glare.

"_What_ did you just call me?" I don't know whether it was my stony features or the venom in my voice, but either way, Fang stopped and gave me one long stare. I couldn't read his features and it irritated me. "Take a picture. It'll last longer," I added bitterly.

"Whatever," Fang pushed past me, thundered down the steps, and slammed the door shut. A loud SLAM echoed throughout the entire house.

I sighed. _What is up with him?_ I wondered. I turned back to Nudge and Ella's stunned faces and gave them an apologetic smile. "Sorry, guys. That didn't go as well as I had hoped it would."

"No problem, Max. Fang is just being moody like he always is! Now let's get you dolled up for this date of yours," Ella replied, perkily, but as I followed her and Nudge, I managed to catch a wary gaze shared between the two of them.

"Alright, so what are we waiting for?!" Nudge squealed.

"Let's get STARTED!" Both Nudge and Ella raced towards me with whatever girly utensil they could get their hands on.

**TWO HOURS LATER**

After two hours of both physical and verbal struggle on how I should look, we were finally putting on the finishing touches when we came to the biggest problem we could possibly face.

"I AM NOT WEARING MAKE-UP!" I screamed while holding a hot curling iron. I waved it warily between Nudge and Ella. "IF YOU COME NEAR ME WITH THOSE DEMONIC TOOLS I WILL SINGE YOUR HAIR OFF!" Despite my warnings, the twins kept on creeping towards me closer and closer with the make-up supplies. I swear on my grave that at that moment their eyes had turned from dark brown to demonic red.

"In order for you to be ready for your date you have to have LIP GLOSS!" Ella screamed back at me. It must have been a signal of some kind because Nudge feinted to the left turning my weapon's attention to her, leaving me wide open for Ella to clasp my arms behind my back and fling the curling iron away.

Nudge grinned. "Don't worry, Max. Nothing's going to hurt...well, nothing but your pride! NOW STAY STILL!" As you would (and should) expect, I did nothing of the sort and began to squirm frantically in the impossibly strong grip of Ella. Nudge began to edge closer and closer until...

"NUDGE AND ELLA! STOP TERRORIZING MAXIE! IF SHE DOESN'T WANT TO WEAR LIPSTICK SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO!" Angel came bounding into Nudge's room and flopped down on the bed.

"Ugh, fine!" Both Nudge and Ella sighed and I was released from Ella's almighty death grip.

"Thank you, Angel, you're a life sav-" I was cut off by a raise of her hand.

"Let me finish. Max you don't have to put on lipstick if you don't want to...but your still gonna wear eye liner." And with that she gave the signal for Nudge and Ella to attack. Apparently, before they were holding back because when they attacked me then they somehow managed to pin me to the floor and apply makeup.

"There! Was that so hard, Max?" Ella said as she brushed imaginary lint off of her and began to pack up the makeup supplies.

"Yes," I grumbled as I looked at myself in the mirror. I have to admit, the eyeliner did wonders. The golden eyeliner was a good contrast from my chocolate eyes. That still didn't mean that I liked it though. "My face feels heavy."

"Shut up, Max. We applied it LIGHTLY." Nudge emphasized as she helped Ella pack.

"Well, I think you look pretty!" Angel perked as she skipped over and gave me a big hug.

"Thanks, Ange," I blushed at the compliment. I glanced down at my wristwatch. "Shit, I got to go," I mumbled. "Thanks guys for the help!" I ran down the steps and out the door. I ran down the block and turned a corner to see Iggy's beat up pickup truck idling on the curb. When Iggy caught sight of me, he stuck his head out the window and whistled.

:"You clean up nicely, Maximum," Iggy smiled smugly at getting me to wear a dress. I punched his shoulder. Hard.

"Shut up and drive," I grumbled.

"Jeez, for a pretty face, you sure pack a punch," He grumbled as we sped down the gravel road.

"Quit being an idiot. Just so we're clear, what exactly am I supposed to do?" I asked.

Iggy cocked an eyebrow. "Where you paying attention at ALL during the debriefing?"

I meekly shook my head. Iggy slammed his head on the dashboard, nearly causing us to crash into a parked BMW.

"Are you sure YOU should be driving?!" I had a death-grip on the sides of seats.

"Relax, Max. You're perfectly safe!" Let the records show that he said this while making an illegal U-turn. "Now back to the matter at hand. This is what's going to go down. We'll enter at different ends of the restaurant. You'll go in the front and I'll enter the back. Head over to Dylan and Mr. Gunther-Hagen's table. Once there, sit down and just be a stereotypical blonde."

"Stereotypical blonde?" Now it was my turn to cock an eyebrow.

"Yea, you know. Dumb, blonde, and perky. Practically wave your boobs in their faces."

"Uh, no. I'll pass on the boob waving, but I can be stereotypical, I guess." I was uncertain about this whole thing. If all the girls that Dylan had brought to his dad were the stereotypical blonde and slut, and he hadn't liked any of THEM, what made us think that he would like stereotypical Max?

"Great. Alright, so while you guys chat it up, Gazzy and I will be at a table near the end, watching everything for any signs of trouble. And if there is, then we'll activate Plan B."

"Plan B? What's Plan B?"

"That's for me to know and hopefully you never to find out." Iggy pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant that I was to meet Dylan and Mr. Gunther-Hagen, _La Bella Luna_ (The Beautiful Moon). "I don't think there will be any trouble so I don't suspect that we need to use Plan B. If you stick to the plan, then everything should work out fine.

"Alright." I stepped out of the car, walked through the parking lot and stepped through the doors with what I hoped to look like a confident stride. It was a pretty classy Italian restaurant, what with its fancy waiter uniforms, crystal chandelier, and live classical music. As I walked into the doors, I immediately spotted Dylan and Mr. Gunther-Hagen. Their table was smack dab in the center of the room where everybody could see them. And by the looks of it, Dylan _wanted_ everybody to see. The few teenage girls in the room stared at Dylan and practically drooled in their seats at how handsome he was. Based on how straight his back was and the infuriatingly knowing grin on his face, I think it's safe to say that he was relishing the attention. Mr. Gunther-Hagen on the other hand didn't seem to notice. His attention was devoted to a book in his hand. As he read, his eyes gleamed with excitement and hunger for the words on the pages.

When I reached the table, Mr. Gunther-Hagen glanced up from his book, as if just realizing that he was in a restaurant full of people, saw me and smiled. I returned his smile and took a seat next to Dylan.

"You look lovely today, my dear," Dylan's voice was an octave deeper than it normally was in an attempt to what I suspected to be charm, so I thought best to just roll with it.

"Why thank you. You're too kind," I flashed him a smile and then turned my attention to Mr. Gunther-Hagen. "And I suspect you to be Dylan's father?"

"Yes, I am." He thrust out his hand and I shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Gunther-Hagen. My name is Maximum Ride."

"Oh, you can just call me Hans, Maximum."

"And you can just call me Max." Hans gave me a warm smile then continued back to his book. Not good. Yea, sure I get props for the smile he gave me, but it seems that I'm not as interesting as his book is. I swallowed the urge to frown and stick my tongue out at him (childish-I know) and instead turned to Dylan and asked what was for dinner. Dylan, knowing that it as his cue to start a conversation, started telling me a humorous narrative on the delicacies that were planned for this evening. I laughed at his corny jokes as perkily as I could. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Hans for any reaction to our joking around, but saw nothing. There was no smile, no laugh, not even a frown of discouragement. If anything, he was even more interested in his book than ever (if that's even possible). This lack of reaction proved my theory that he didn't like Dylan being with perky, slutty whores. Despite myself, I grinned. I love being right.

While Dylan continued talking, I stopped listening. Instead, my eyes scanned the room, looking for Gazzy and Iggy. I finally spotted them in the very back of the room, as planned. Gazzy was mercilessly chowing down on a plate of spaghetti. Iggy was a little more composed. His back was perfectly straight, his face blank but pleasant, his red-blond hair was dangling in his eyes, not entirely obstructing his view, but his eyes were watchful, aware of the slightest of movements in a twenty feet radius of him and Gazzy. He spotted me looking at him and raised an eyebrow. I gave him a reassuring smile.

"So Max, what are your interests and hobbies?" Hans's voice drew my attention back to the table.

"Well, above all things, I love to take care of my little brother, Ari. Strange, I know, but he's so cute and adorable that you GOTTA love him. And when I have time away from the little energy ball, which is border line rare, I enjoy reading." I answered truthfully. Dylan looked a little taken aback by my answer while Hans looked as intrigued as he was about his glorious book.

"Oh? What books have you read recently?" Hans leaned forward.

"Well, I just finished _The Book Thief_ and before that I read _To Kill a Mockingbird_ and _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ **(Author's Note: If you guys haven't read any of these books yet, I suggest you read them. They may be old, but they are AMAZING!)**."

"How did you like _The Book Thief_?" The corner of his lips tugged upwards as if he were trying to hide a knowing smile. I bet that he thought I hadn't even read that book. He was dead wrong.

"Well, first and foremost, I cried when Hans, Rosa, Rudy, and Tommy died. And I loved the format of the writing, how it was all from Death's point of view and how in the end Death took Liesel. And there were so many other details that just amazed me, like the historical back round, the word choice, and how everything was just so devised, precise, and to the point. Overall, that book was one of my favorites. Even though I basically ruined the entire book, if you haven't read it yet, I would suggest that you do because it was THAT GOOD." I gave Hans a sweet smile and then turned as the waiter came with our food. Once the waiter left, I turned my attention back to Hans who, for the first time in the entire evening, gave me a real, full-blown smile.

"Is there anything else besides liking books and caring for your brother?" He asked.

"Yea, I like to sing." I said meekly. If Hans saw how uncomfortable I was at the topic of singing to anyone, he didn't show it.

"Really? How good are you?" I just shrugged. "Come now. Sing for us."

"Right now?" It didn't seem like a good idea to sing in front of a bunch of random people I didn't even know, not because I was shy, but because it would look kind of strange for me to just randomly belch out tunes. And if I did, Iggy would have a heart attack. I didn't say this so instead I changed the subject. "Enough about me. What are your interests?"

Hans finally understood that I don't like singing in front of people and he gladly started talking about himself and his business. While describing his business, Dylan and I managed to get a few jokes in about how _destructive_ Hans must be when he's mad. Before we knew it we were all laughing and making fun of each other as if we were old friends. Everything was perfect…until Fang walked through the front door with a red headed whore in his arms.

Iggy and Gazzy immediately sprang into action. They raced past our table, slapped my plate of RED spaghetti onto my $200 WHITE dress, raced back, made some excuse to Dylan and Hans that they would buy me a new dress (which they probably wouldn't), threw my hair into my face, practically CARRIED ME FROM THE TABLE AND OUT THE DOOR, shoved me into Iggy's beat up pick-up truck, and sped away. Normally, I would scream at them how they ruined my dress, hair, and the entire evening, and how they would give me three-fourths of the money they got from Dylan's dad. Instead, I just sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window.

"What's up with you?" Iggy stared at me until Gazzy screamed for him to look at the road before we all died.

"Nothing." I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hide my enormous grin from the boys. Before they stole me from my dinner, I managed to hear what Hans said to Dylan while I was carried away. Back at the dinner table, Hans had said to Dylan, "I like that girl." Meaning, success.

**Okay guys, before you start screaming and yelling at me about how I am so stupid and how I should go die in a hole or something, hear me out. I came prepared and I have reasons. 1. I went to Nigeria for half of the summer and they don't have Wi-Fi in the entire nation. 2. After that I went to Florida, without my computer, and so I only had my laptop, which doesn't have Microsoft Word so I wasn't able to work. 3. When I came back from Florida, school was about to start and so then I had to get ready. 4. School started and when school starts it's really busy and everything. And then there is reason number 5. The biggest reason. 5. For some dumbass reason, Microsoft Word, just decided to delete itself from my computer and so we had to repurchase the ENTIRE FRICKIN PROGRAM! And let me just tell you, it is NOT CHEAP. IT WAS $200! So my mom kept on procrastinating on buying it and so we just bought it like 2 days ago so yea. If you want me to say that I'm sorry and that not updating for 3 months is unacceptable and that I will never do it again, well then suck it up cuz that ain't gonna happen. Yea, I'll make sure to post at least ONCE in the span of 3 months, but I won't be able to post every single week cuz I have classes and homework. All street talk aside, I still love you guys and I hope you like this exceptionally long chappy made just for you! And again I am still pretty sorry for leaving you guys hanging for 3 months. **** I'll try to do better! And just remember, comment if you have questions, ideas on how to make the story any better, or if you want to give me a million dollars for just being me. NEVER FORGET THAT I LOVE YOU ALL BECAUSE YOU ARE LOVELY PEOPLE AND IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE OR INFLICTING SELF HARM, PLEASE DON'T BECAUSE YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE! I LOVE YOU! HAVE A GREAT AND AWESOME DAY!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	8. Chapter 8

**HEY GUYS! Alright, right now I feel hyper so I'm writing this to blow off steam. I'm also writing this because of the comments you guys are giving me. It makes me feel all warm and bubbly inside to know you guys like my story. So yea, I'm going to shut up now and right this chappy for you guys already. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, I do not own these characters and I don't own a big house. But you know who does own all these things? James Patterson.**

**10 MONTHS 25 DAYS UNTIL DEATH**

"Max, wake up." My eyes sprung open. Slanted sunlight crept in through the shutters but didn't reach completely into the room, casting over half of the room into eerie shadows. I could feel my body tense as my eyes flitted around looking for any immediate danger until they landed on Ari. I immediately relaxed.

"What's up little man?" By the way the light from the window was slanted, I could tell that it was around 6 am.

"We should probably leave for school now." Ari's eyes shifted from me to the door and back. Across the hall was Jeb's room. At first I was confused at what he was implying but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was Monday. The only day Jeb wakes up early.

You see, Jeb has a unique, ever changing schedule. Some days he wakes up early and some days he doesn't get up until its dinnertime. At first it had been challenging for me and Ari to predict when he was going to wake up, but gradually we got the hang of it. Certain days bring certain things. For example, on Monday's he has first shift at the laboratory where he works (Jeb is a scientist). On Saturdays, he works all day, from 4 am to 11 pm. What with yesterday being as hectic as it was, I forgot all about how we have to wake up early to sneak out undetected.

I threw aside the covers, pulled on a pair of ripped jeans and a sweater over my tank, splashed some water onto my face, and pushed me and Ari out my bedroom door. We speed walked down the corridor and came to an abrupt stop in front of the stairs. The hallway was no problem, but the stairs are a different matter entirely. Every single step has at least one creak in it, and if you're not careful, you could wake up the entire house with the wrong move.

I lifted my foot up off the sanctuary of the corridor floor and gently brought it down onto the very top step of the stairwell while Ari and I held our breaths. We nearly shouted for joy when no sound came from the steps. We slowly made our descent and with every step we were closer to freedom. When we reached the ground floor without making so much as a squeak, I became suspicious. It might have been just a little superstitious, but something didn't feel right with the fact that we came out of those deadly steps scratch free. I shrugged it off but proceeded to the kitchen with caution. Once there, we immediately, grabbed some bread, a couple slices of ham, and 2 bottles of Gatorade. We were about to step out the door when…

"Where do you think you're going?"

I grabbed the food and shoved Ari towards the door. Jeb grabbed my arm and yanked me back hard. I cried out for Ari to run.

Jeb slammed me into the couch and leaped on top of me, clamping my hands over my head with an iron grip. I squirmed and wiggled under his grasp on my wrists, but wouldn't let me budge. Apparently my squirming made him angrier so he put his hands around my neck and squeezed.

"Stop moving. NOW." His face was so close to mine that I could feel his rancid breath against my face. A shiver spread throughout my body.

I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. All I could do was wait for the blackness to swallow me whole and never spit me back out. Just as I was about to pass out, Jeb's grip loosened a bit, allowing me enough space to breathe again. I gasped down breathe after breathe, devouring as much as I could. While I caught my breath, I had stopped moving, which pleased Jeb.

Jeb leaned down so that his mouth was right next to my ear. "Now that you finally will listen, answer my question. Where were you last night?"

"I was out." A stupid answer on my part, but hey, it was true. Jeb back-handed me across the face.

"Who were you out _with_?" Jeb stretched his words for emphasis. I stayed silent. "Were you with Ignacio (Iggy's real name) and Zephyr (Gazzy's real name)? Or were you with Nicholas?" When Jeb mentioned Fang, I shivered because of the obvious resentment in his words. Unfortunately, Jeb thought I shivered because he was right. "YOU WHORE, YOU SLUT! HOW CAN YOU SELL YOUR BODY TO SUCH IMBE-"

"Jeb, it wasn't like that-" Before I could finish defending myself, Jeb slammed my head on the coffee table beside the couch.

"I AM YOUR FATHER, MAXIMUM! TALK TO ME WITH RESPECT!" He kept slamming my head down on the counter. Sometime later, he finally stopped his temper tantrum. "Until, you learn some respect, young lady, you are not allowed to leave this house. Ever." And with that he calmly put on his shoes and socks, grabbed his keys, began whistling a single note, and was off. Although I couldn't see, I heard his car back out of our driveway and barrel away.

My body had become numb from the pounding pain in my forehead. My sight was speckled with dark spots and there was an endless ringing in my ears. Groaning, I rolled onto my butt and made an effort to sit up. Both the coffee table and the carpet were covered in blood. _My blood_. I raised my fingers to my right temple and pulled it back sharply when I felt a burning sting on impact. My fingers glistened with blood. In all the jumble in my brain, I had a single thought. _Is it possible to bleed out from a head injury? Am I going to die?_ After I thought this, I had this strange feeling inside. Almost as if I were already accepting death. But then again, if I died there, wouldn't it make things so much easier for me? No more abusive father, no more responsibilities, no more pain or suffering, no more hating myself for being a curse. At this point, I almost wanted to die. When I was about to close my eyes and let go, I had another thought. _Ari._ If I died, who would take care of him? I'd be damned if I were to let Jeb get anywhere close to him. But what if Fang and his family…? No, I won't do that to them. I won't push such responsibility onto their shoulders. But why not? They do already have four kids, what would be so bad if I threw one more into the mix? _Ari would never forgive me if I died._ It was true. Ari was just stubborn like that, like me and mom.

I pushed those dark thoughts away and fought to stay awake. My eyes were becoming incredibly tired, my head droopy, my thoughts fuzzy, and my body numb.

_CREAK._

That was the door opening again. A wave of fear enveloped me and thought of Jeb coming back for round two. A hand covered my mouth right when I was about to scream.

"Relax, Maxie. It's me." Ari appeared into my vision and my anxiety was washed away. His worried eyes took in my head wound and had a sharp intake of breath. He scurried away, retrieved the first aid kit. He doused a piece of gauze with rubbing alcohol and applied it to my right temple. Once again, for the umpteenth time, I felt a pang of sorrow at the fact that a boy so young already knows how to tend a wound. Once he was done, he helped me onto the couch and intertwined our fingers.

"Why aren't you at school yet?" I gurgled.

"Because someone has to take care of you when you try to be hero." Ari smiled.

"Trying? Honey, I _am_ a hero. I'm Maximum Ride, for crying out loud." I grinned at him.

"Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, you need some rest. I'll be lookout for old Jeb will you get some Z's, alright." I nodded my head in agreement and before I knew it, I was unconscious.

**FANG POV**

Unconsciously, I kept watching the door to see if Max would show up. It just wasn't like her to skip school. I mentally checked myself. _Who cares what she does? I don't. _I blinked in surprise at my own thoughts. Where did that come from? Yesterday, when Max said that she was going on a date, I felt this strange feeling growing in my stomach that made me sick. I'd never felt it before and I was starting to think that I was suffering from the flu or something.

_Ring, ring._ The bell for lunch signaled and all the students rushed out of the classroom. Instead of heading towards the lunch line as I usually did, I raced to my locker in hopes of being alone. The halls emptied fast and soon enough I was by myself.

I rested my head on the cool locker surface and sighed. I didn't want to think and I ignored that growing feeling in my gut. I just stood there and breathed in deeply. Unfortunately, my beautiful silence was interrupted by a pair of clicking heels. Skinny arms draped around my torso and pulled me tight. I turned around to see Lissa. She had fabulous red hair, was about 5 foot 4 and had these HUGE coconuts-scratch that WATERMELONS-on her chest. She wore skimpy, basically see through clothes and was hotter than hell.

"Hey," I breathed.

"Hey," she pulled me down into a lingering kiss. "That was my way of saying that I had fun last night. Thanks for taking me."

"Anytime, babe." I grinned.

"See you later," she flashed me one last dazzling smile and then sauntered away, her hips wagging behind her.

Damn, how in the hell did that happen, again?

Last night, when I left the house after Max had yelled at me, I went for a walk around the old playground by the elementary. There I found Lissa and she asked me if I would like to go out with her and eat. I said sure, got dressed and ended up taking her to _La Bella Luna_. What with fate being a bitch, it just so happened that Max and her date were there as well. And then the strangest thing happened. Gazzy and Iggy came out of nowhere, threw spaghetti all over Max's white dress and ran off with Max in Iggy's arms. I am still totally lost on why they did that, but at least they were gone.

I glanced at the clock to my left and was surprised to find that lunch was over halfway over. _Had I really just stood there thinking for 20 minutes_? I pushed away my thoughts and ran for the lunch room. Grabbing a tray, I rushed through the line and briskly walked out into the courtyard to eat in peace.

**3 HOURS LATER**

The finally bell rang and I sighed with relief. I had enough of this day already and it was only 2:00. Again, I raced to my locker in hopes of peaceful silence. And again, fate had other plans.

While I was getting my backpack out of my locker, someone silently walked up behind me. When I turned around, there was a guy with white blond hair, muscular arms, broad shoulders, and a smug grin that I wanted desperately to punch off his "handsome" face.

"Hello. Are you Fang?" Dylan asked with innocents eyes that belong to a devil.

"Yea…"

"I heard that you are a friend of Max. I was just concerned as to where she was. I believe she didn't come to school today." He sure as hell didn't look concerned.

"If you so much as touch her, I swear to God that I will rip you apart limb by limb." I growled.

"Ooo, you're quite scary when you're mad." He sarcastically raised his hands in mock surrender. "Like I said before, _Fang_, I'm just concerned as to where she might be. Besides, if I were you, I would keep my mouth shut." I swung at him. He ducked and then magically reappeared behind me. He leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "I know your secret." At this I paused. "You're in love with Max."

**Hey I'm back and feeling really guilty about not writing. Blame my teachers for giving me so homework *cough cough* Mr. Schweitzer *cough cough*. So tell me what you guys think about this story so far, your likes and dislikes, any feedback at all would be helpful. Please follow this account and give me any review you can think of, story related or not story related. I officially give you guys permission to ask me any question you want, no matter how personal and I will answer it by private messaging it. And when I say that I will answer all questions, I MEAN ALL QUESTIONS. Just cuz I feel bad and I'm really bored. So, yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed this chappy! **

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	9. Chapter 9

**HEY GUYZZZZ! I'M BACK! So, I have no words to describe how I feel right now cuz I am so hyped up with this story and I can't wait to finish writing! So I hope that you guys will enjoy this chappy! YAY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MR, James Patterson, these characters, this computer, this chair, or a house. But what I do own is rights. If you as much as THINK of suing me, I will fuck you up. (I'm kidding, please do not think this is a threat. But if you do sue me, I hope you're prepared to lose everything you own. Cuz I DON'T lose)**

**10 MONTHS 25 DAYS UNTIL DEATH**

**FANG POV**

"You son of a bitch!" I tried to drop kick Dylan, but again, he avoided my attack but this time appeared a couple of feet away to my left. "You don't know anything! You don't know me!" I was pissed that this wanna be playboy was talking about things he had no right to talk about.

"True, I may not know you very well, but I can recognize a man's intentions and desires based on their reactions to certain things and words. I also know people like you. And trust me when I say this Fang. Guys like you, _always_ lose to guys like me. And more than anything, I will not let you take this prize from me." He grinned with a smile just a bit too wide for his face. "Chow." He turned around and walked away.

In frustration, I slammed my locker shut. An echoing bang ricocheted off of the hallways. "That little pint nosed, stuck up, motherfucking…" I grumbled insults as I trudged away from the school. By the time I ran out of cuss words (and I know A LOT of cuss words) I looked up at my destination. Somehow, I had wandered up to Max's house. I was about to turn around and walk away when I saw movement in the left base window. Curious, I walked up the porch and rang the doorbell. After a couple of minutes of silence, I began to worry. Something just didn't seem right with the atmosphere. I furiously knocked on the door for a straight minute and I probably would have kept on knocking if Ari hadn't opened the door with a scowl on his adorable little face.

"WHAT DO YOU WAAAAANNNNTTTTT?!" Ari asked with an exaggerated level of annoyance in his voice. Before I could laugh at his silliness, I saw something flicker in his eyes. Was that worry, anxiety? Fear?

"Where's Max?" I asked. Ari's eyes turned glassy and he bit his lip. He seemed to be quarreling with himself on something. The seconds seemed to stretch out into an eternity.

Finally coming to a decision, Ari said, "Get in." He practically pulled me into the house and slammed the door closed.

"What's going on? Where's Ma-" I was cut off when a soft moan sounded behind me. Whirling around, I took in the scene behind me. Max was lying on the coach, blood leaking from her forehead and covering the floor and the coffee table. There was gauze around the wound, but it did nothing to stop the bleeding. In two strides, I was at her side, kneeling over to check her pulse. She was alive, just unconscious. I released a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. "Who did this?" I asked, but Ari just stared blankly at me. "Who did this to her!" It no longer sounded like a question but more like an accusation of some kind. Ari's eyes became the size of flying saucers and he began to hyperventilate. I went over, kneeled in front of him, and looked him in the eyes. "Hey, kid. It's going to be all right. Max will be fine."

"Do you promise?" Ari's voice was weak and scared.

"I swear on my life that I will protect her with my last breath. Okay?"

A moment of pause. "Okay, I believe you."

"Now will you please tell me who did this to Max?" I asked while maintaining a soothing voice.

"I can't." Ari's face suddenly became stony, his eyes secretive and filled with silent, white fury. The same way Max looked when I had called her stupid.

"That's all right, Ari. I can assume that you don't want me to take her to a hospital either?" He shook his head. I sighed in resignation. "Fine. Can I take her to see my mom?" He hesitantly nodded. "Sweet. Just follow me and I will lead the way." I turned back towards Max. As I gently scooped her up into my arms, she moaned.

"Fang." Max moaned again.

"I'm right here, Max."

"You have gentle hands." A single tear fell down her cheek.

"Hush now. Everything will be alright." I whispered into her hair and she shivered. With growing concern, we walked out of Max's house and into the open air.

**2 HOURS LATER**

**MAX POV**

"So you're telling me that you fell down a flight of stairs, hitting you head repeatedly on the edges, slammed your head down on the coffee table _10 feet away_, then collapsed on the floor?" If Mrs. Martinez's eyebrows were any higher, they would be on the ceiling.

"Yup." I said.

"I don't believe you."

"I didn't think you would."

"So what really happened, Max? Tell me the real story this time." Mrs. Martinez leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees.

"I told you. What with me being a klutz, my feet decided that it would be a marvelous idea to take a one way trip down the stairs and my head wanted to give the coffee table a big ole' kiss."

Mrs. Martinez took off her physician glasses and looked at me with exasperation. "Max, all I want to do is help you. But in order for me to do that, you have to let me." I kept my chin up and just stared at her blankly. She sighed. "Fine. I have to run real quick to the clinic to get some supplies to better fix that wound of yours. I should be back in an hour or two. For now, DO NOT go to sleep." Mrs. Martinez packed up her supplies, and left.

I hate lying to people. Whenever I do, it makes me feel extremely guilty. Especially if I had to lie to someone who was nothing but kind to me and Ari. But I had no other choice. It's not like I could go up and say, "Oh, hey. How's life? Btw I've been lying to you guys for years now. My father's always drunk and he enjoys abusing me and Ari in his free time, leaving me to be the only one who can raise him. How 'bout that Sox game last night?" And I know what you're thinking. Why not? Why are you protecting Jeb after all he's done to you? First of all, I'm NOT protecting Jeb. I hope that bastard rots in hell. But what I don't want is this: if I were to tell the police about Jeb, they would come and arrest him. After that, they would put Ari and me in foster care. Ari would get adopted by some rich family who won't even so much as look at him, rather than give them to their maids, I'll be tossed out foster home after foster home until I turn 18, and the likely hood of either of us seeing each other ever again were about 0.000000001. And I NEED to see Ari. I can't live without him. Other people think that he's the one depending on me when it really is the other way around. Ari keeps my heart strong, which keeps my muscles and my endurance strong, which essentially keeps me strong. A life without Ari isn't a life worth living.

The door creaked open, and Fang popped his head in, immediately pulling me away from my thoughts.

"Hey, can I come in?" He asked, surprisingly formal. The Fang I knew would've just barged right in and plopped onto the bed.

"Of course." I smiled at him.

He came in and sat on the chair parallel to my bed.

"So…" I said to fill the awkward silence.

"So…" He said in reply.

"Please don't."

"What?"

"Please don't ask what happened to me. I've already told your mom." I didn't want to have to lie to anymore people. It took to much energy out of me.

"I wasn't going to-"

"Liar, I can see your gears working. Plus you were already forming the words."

Fang just stared at me. Inside I cringed at my words. "You're calling _me_ a liar? You can't actually think that I'll believe that you fell down a flight of fucking stairs! All I want is to know is the truth so that I can protect you!"

"I don't NEED protecting! I can protect myself and-"

"NO YOU CAN'T! YOU NEARLY DIED TODAY, MAX!" The house was filled with silence. Fang blinked in surprise at the volume of his own voice. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever. You proved your point. Leave me alone." I hated how my voice sounded so broken and weak when I really wanted to scream and yell at him for being such a dickhead. But right now, I was too tired.

Fang sighed. "Fine. At least I know you think I have gentle hands." He begrudgingly got up. I turned scarlet. Fang smirked and slipped out the door.

"GET BACK HERE, ASSHOLE!" I hurled my pillow at the door and it made a loud thump.

"Max, such language is not tolerated in this household." Fang tisked at me as he lean half his body in through the doorway.

"FUCK YOU!" I threw another pillow and he barely ducked out of the way.

"And such violence! I'm surprised that Ari hasn't gone on his first homicidal killing spree yet." Fang shook his head in dismay.

"Shut up, Walker. Ari is perfectly fine."

"For _now_. Just wait until the future. He'll be a psychotic, evil mastermind. I'm telling you. He's already tearing off butterfly wings and burning ants with magnifying glasses." Fang had now reseated himself on the chair.

"Oh, and you're an angel how exactly? I once saw you sucker punch a kid twice your size just cuz he looked at you funny." Fang chuckled.

"That just means that I've got guts."

"Or it means that you're just plain stupid." This time Fang laughed. I don't know how to describe Fang's laugh. It deep yet soft and tender. Almost tangible, as if it is just out of reach. It makes me feel safe and enveloped in blissful peace. It is by far my favorite sound in the world.

We talked about memories, about school, about basically nothing really. All we needed was each other's company in order to smile. Which I have to admit is odd considering that we had just screamed in each other's faces a couple of minutes ago. With any other person, I would feel awkward and uncomfortable, but with Fang, I've never felt more at ease. Sometime later, Mrs. Martinez slipped into the room with arms full of medicine and antiseptics. Fang excused himself out and I found myself missing him already. Mrs. Martinez cleaned up the wound, then pronounced it safe to sleep. As soon as she left the room, I fell asleep, dreaming of dancing across oblivion with Fang's beautiful laughter echoing through the air.

**YAY! I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER IN A DAY! I FEEL SO FRICKING PROUD! So please tell me what you guys thought on this story because when I hear you guys reviews, I feel like I'm on cloud nine! I guess you don't absolutely have to respond, but it would make my day if you did. Hell, just you guys reading this makes my day already! So thank you so much for all the views and for those of you who comment your feelings on this story. You can ask questions or just chat with me if you want. So yea. I LOVE YOU ALL! YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE AND IF I EVER MEET YOU IN PERSON, JUST TELL ME TO WATCH THE SKIES AND I WILL HUG YOU! PLEASE SOMEONE DO THIS! I LOVE YOU ALL! I CAN'T THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH FOR READING THIS STORY! HAVE A BLESSED DAY!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I'm back! I am super happy right now cuz I just perfected a really pretty song on the piano and although it took me, like a month, IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT! It's called Canon in D. If you've never heard it, you should check it out because it is really pretty and sad and it will possibly make you tear up. I don't know why but it will. ALSO I AM SUPERDUPERUPER HAPPY ABOUT THE REVIEWS YOU GUYS HAVE GIVEN ME! YOU GUYS ARE ALL AWESOME! Like for example iluviggyhesthebest. SHE IS SO FREAKIN AWESOME! AND SHE WRITES AMAZING STORIES! IF YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING FOR ANYTHING NEW TO READ ON THIS SITE GO CHECK HER OUT! I AM COMMANDING YOU! OBEY ME! Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy this chappy! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own shit. It all goes to James Patterson. The only thing I own is this plot and that's all.**

**9 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

"Max, you gotta get up! We're going to be late for school!" Fang tried to shake me awake, but I just burrowed deeper into the warm covers. Fang yanked them off of my body and dumped them unceremoniously on the floor.

"Fuck off, Walker. I'm trying to sleep." I flipped him he birdie and threw a pillow at him. He chuckled, a rich deep sound that I've come to love hearing.

"You do realize that it's 8:50 right?" He sighed in mock exaggeration. My eyes snapped open. It was 8:50. School starts at 8:55. We were currently 20 minutes away walking distance, 15 running. Our school had a stupid policy that 5 minutes after the bell rang, all doors leading outside were to be locked and anyone missing will be automatically marked absent. Meaning that Fang and I were in some deep shit.

"FUCK!" I screamed as I leapt out of bed and bolted to the bathroom. I splashed freezing water on my face, wrenched a brush through my hair. Throwing on a shirt and tugging some pants on, I sort of half wiggled, half staggered down the stairs while still brushing my teeth. Downstairs, Fang was making bacon and eggs, blending a smoothie, and toasting bread simultaneously. After tripping down the last three steps, I shoved all of our homework into our backpacks and then turned to assist Fang in his cooking spree. The way he was dancing around from stove to blender to toaster, he looked like an Indian chief dancing some kind of Celtic Macarena. We danced around each other, shoving burnt food into our mouths and various plastic bags. Not bothering to wash the dishes, we raced out the door and across the pavement. We ran as fast as we could, through alleys, across streets, passing block after block. Sweat streamed into my eyes and down my shirt in fat drops. Through bleary eyes, I could see the school in the distance. And by some miracle, the doors were still open.

"We're…gonna…make it!" The words mixed together with my ragged breathing so that it all sounded like gibberish. But Fang got the gist of what I was saying because his speed increased as did mine. We were at the parking lot when Ms. Flores came clacking towards the door in a white blouse, pencil skirt, and black heels. She kicked in the right door stopper, leaving only the left door open.

"W-Wait!" Fang yelled. We were nearly there. With a rueful smile, Ms. Flores kicked in the left door stopper, letting it slam shut, just as we came to a halt in front of the door. I stared at the closed door in shock. Fang was banging the flat of his hand against the cool, black steel of the door. Ms. Flores just smirked and sauntered away, wiggling her hips as she went. I sighed and slid to the floor with my back against the door. Fang did the same. "Bitch." He muttered.

After a couple minutes of glum silence, I leapt to my feet. "Well, it does us no good to just sit around and mope. Let's go and do something fun!" I offer Fang my hand and help pull him up.

"Like what?" Fang asked. A lock of his thick hair fell into his eyes, but he didn't seem to even notice.

"Well, how 'bout we go to the Lake Shoreline," I suggested. I have always loved Lake Shoreline. When my mom was still alive, she would take me there and we would just sit there on the docks and look at the waves beat against the sand. After she was gone and Jeb started to drink, I would sneak out at night and sit on those same docks. I would watch as the waves would beat against the sand in an endless cycle. Rise. Swell. Impact. Pull back. And so on and so on. Wondering how my world fell to hell so quickly.

"Sure."

We walked the short distance to Lake Shoreline and sat on a dock. After a while, we started talking. We laughed about how we were so going to be dead when Mrs. Martinez found out that we didn't go to school. Now you're probably wondering why I was at Fang's house this morning, sleeping in his bed. Well, after Mrs. Martinez fixed my head up after Jeb beat me senseless, they let us (that being me and Ari) stay with them for a while, partly because I was afraid to go back to Jeb's house. His warning was still fresh in my mind.

"_Until you learn some respect, you are not allowed to leave this house. Ever." _His words still send shivers down my spine. It's very unlikely that I will ever learn any respect for that bastard, and I damn well wasn't going have Ari stay in that house any longer than he has to. So the question remained. What was Jeb going to do to me? Just the thought of it sent me breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Max. Max! MAX!" Fang shook my shoulders gently, pulling me back to reality. "Are you alright? You're pale." His eyebrows knitted together and the corners of his eyes crinkled with concern. I glanced up. The sun hung lazily in the sky and was a little past the midway point, inching slowly towards the other side of the horizon. It was probably around 3 o'clock. Meaning we had been on the docks for about 6 hours. _Jeez_, I thought. My eyes slid down toward Fang's. His eyes were a dark, dark shade of brown, almost black. Near his pupil, the color got lighter and turned into a sort of dark hazel. My gaze shifted then to his button nose with a slight hook in it, then down to his lips. Damn, Fang had some sexy lips. They were plump, **(Author's Note: Would you describe lips as plump or round or fat? I personally think that plump sounds funny so therefore it is better. LOGIC!)** but not so much that it didn't look swollen. For some unknown reason, I felt a sudden urge to wrap my arms around him, pull him in close, and never let him go. I looked back into his eyes. His eyes no longer looked concern, but sort of fascinated and transfixed as he stared back at me, probably pointing out my flaws as his eyes raked over my body. A shiver ran through me and my arms became covered in goose bumps.

"Max…" Fang whispered. As he said my name, a lock of hair fell into his eyes.

"Yea…" I replied. My hand seemed to move on its own and tucked his hair behind his ear, then rested on his cheek. This time it was his turn to shiver.

"I-" Before Fang could finish, a shrill ring resounded from Fang's pocket. He nearly jumped out of his skin until he looked down and realized that it was his phone. Looking at caller ID he said, "It's Lissa," with a frown. He didn't answer it. I immediately retracted my hand from his cheek and scooted a few feet away from him.

"What's wrong?" Fang asked, noticing the sudden change of mood.

"Why are you even dating her?" The question popped out of my mouth before I could even stop it.

"Who? Lissa?" Fang's eyebrows shot up when I nodded. "Well, um, I don't know. It just…happened." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Dating sluts don't just happen, Fang!" I had no idea why I was so mad. Neither did Fang.

"Why do you even care? Besides, it's not like your _boyfriend_ is Mr. Perfect," Fang was standing up now, so I stood up too.

"What do you have against Dylan? He's never done anything to you before!" My voice was rising but I didn't care.

"Max, you don't know anything." Instead of matching my rising voice, his dropped down to a whisper. This only made me angrier.

"How can you say that 'I don't know' when you waltz around judging me and my choices as if YOU know the full picture? Well, guess what Fang, YOU DON'T!" At this point, there were some bystanders staring at us, which only made me even angrier.

"Well, why don't care to explain to me?" Fang's voice was finally raised so now it matched mine, giving me slight satisfaction.

"BECAUSE IT'S NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS!" With a huff, I stormed off of the docks. When Fang started calling my name, I ran. My brain kept telling my legs to stop and turn around so that I could apologize for being an emotional ass, but my legs weren't taking orders from nobody. I wasn't only running away from Fang, but I was trying to run away from all my problems. Jeb. Responsibility. Fang's pleading eyes. Fear. I could feel the weight of it all trying to bring me to my knees, and I desperately needed to be free.

I finally slowed to a stop at an alley that ended in a dead end. I had probably run across half of town and I was exhausted. Turning around, I was about to walk out of the alley when a pair of hands grabbed me from behind, firmly clamping my mouth shut.

"Hello, Maximum. You've been a very naughty girl." Jeb purred next to my ear. I squirmed around, but his grip was iron. I even bit his hand and for a moment, my mouth was released, allowing a single, blood curdling scream to escape my lips. "BITCH! SHUT UP!" He backhanded me so hard that I saw stars dancing across my eyelids. Re-adjusting his grip, he brought my ear back up to his lips. They smelled like liquor. "Now this is what we're going to do, Maximum. We're going to pick-up Ari from school, and then all three of us will be taking a little family vacation to the farmhouse outside of the city. Doesn't that sound fun?" He sneered. Then he dragged me away, tears stinging my eyes.

**ARI POV**

"Ari Ride, please come to the office." The monotonous voice of the electronic announcer rang throughout my classroom. Silently, I got up, packed my books, and left the class. Walking through the halls, I began to worry about what I had done this time. Mentally, I checked everything I had done wrong in the past week or two, but nothing seemed bad enough for me to be called down to the office.

"Hello, Ari," the office lady, Linda, greeted me. Linda had always been nice to me, and would sometimes sneak me some candy when no one was looking. Now, she smiled at my worried face. "Don't worry. Your big sister Max is her to pick you up early from school. She says you guys are going on a little vacation. I hope you have fun!" And with that she turned back to her paperwork.

_Vacation?_ In my family, a vacation wasn't exactly cause for celebration. I cautiously looked past Linda and saw Max in the waiting room. She didn't see me and I could tell she was trying her hardest to hold back tears. My suspicions were immediately proved right when Jeb stepped out from behind her and laid one of his mammoth hands on her shoulder. Max whimpered.

"Come on, Ari! It's time to have some fun," Jeb grinned through crooked yellowed teeth. I took a reluctant step forward and gulped.

**FANG POV**

The next day, I didn't see Max in class. I was too angry to care and just brushed it off as her playing hooky again. But when she wasn't there again the day after that, I became doubtful. My doubt grew when a full week went by and there was no Max. Another week passed and I became terribly worried. I stopped by the office during a passing period and asked if they had heard anything from her.

"Relax, kid." A nasally office lady said as she slurped her coffee. "She's on vacation."

_Vacation? A month before mid-terms?_ Maybe it was just me being paranoid, but that just didn't sound right to me. After school, I went to her house to check, and sure enough, no one was there. Sighing, I turned back around and proceeded to walk back to my house. There was nothing I could do but wait and see if Max was alright in the end.

**SO YEA! What do you guys think?! Right now, story is nearing the most suspenseful part and in the next chapters to come, I promise that there will be more Fax. But for now, I hope you guys enjoyed this chappy! Please review and follow this story! BUT MAINLY REVIEW BECAUSE I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS! I LOVE YOU ALL! HAVE A GREAT DAY! I LOVE YOU GUYS! (Did I say that already? *shrug*) Ok, so I'm gonna wrap this up so that I can start brainstorming on what I'm going to do next to torture-I mean **_**entertain**_** you guys. SEE YA! **

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	11. Chapter 11

**HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! Okay, so before you start grabbing up tableware and pitchforks to stab me with, I just want to say that I am so unbelievably sorry for not writing for **_**an entire year**_**. It makes me feel horrible. I don't want to be one to make excuses, but my mom got mad at me for writing this cuz it uses the "occasional" curse word. She may see it as a bad thing, but I see it as a way to express one's self more…colorfully. **_**Obviously**_** that didn't go well over with her, hence why writing was a taboo for an entire year. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still not supposed to be writing this story. That's why I'm writing it on my **_**personal**_** laptop instead of our family computer, which I probably should have done in the first place…whoops. OH WELL, mistakes have been made, lessons have been learned and all that morale shit. Now, back to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own diddly squat. Nada. Zilch. Zero. The big donut hole. I think you get the jist.**

**7 MONTHS AND 14 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

**FANG POV**

Two months. Two _fucking_ months I don't see her, and then all of a sudden she just shows up out of the blue and acts as if nothing happened.

As you might imagine, when Max came back, it wasn't exactly the happy reunion you, the audience, were probably looking for. There was no frolicking in fields of flowers. Me and Max, we didn't race towards each other, meet in the middle, and embrace in each other's arms. Oh, no. There was none that. Only Max's stubborn hostility. What I did to deserve it, I have no clue. I'll set up the scene for ya:

I'm walking into school, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, I see Max at her locker, getting her books, and talking to Iggy. Me being curious and worried for my friend's sake, I walk over and politely ask her where she was for all of two months. She blatantly shrugged me off and said, "Vacation." In my head, I said to myself, _No shit, Sherlock. I gathered that from when I asked the office ladies where you were. Why the hell didn't you call or text or something!_ But me being the nice, polite boy I am, I didn't say these things aloud, but instead said, "Why were you on vacation so long and why didn't you call or something?"

Max just shrugged and said, "My father wanted our family to have some father-daughter-son time together and really _bond_ with one another." At the mention of the word _bond_ I noticed the venom behind her words. She made it sound like a cruel joke. And why was she so mad anyway? Was her anger pointed at me or at somebody else…? Seeing my quizzical look, she cleared her throat and continued talking. "And, uh, there was no cell service or Wi-Fi in the log cabin we stayed in.

I was about to press on stating how she could have written a letter or something when Iggy _rudely_ interrupted. "Well, the important thing is that Max is okay and that she's back. Isn't that right, _Fang_?" Iggy's voice had a little edge to it, hinting for me to back off on question Max. Shrugging angrily, I backed off and stood to the side as Iggy tried to engage Max in conversation. Every word he said to her, she replied with an "Uh huh" or a "Cool" or just shrugged. My anger melted away to worry. It was obvious that something happened on Max's family trip that had left her but a shell of her former self, but the question was, what happened? And why did it take two months for Max to get back to us?

**MAX POV**

Dear audience, I wish to inform with the deepest regret that you have been deceived in Fang's previous section of the story. Yes, my return was not a grand and fabulous occurrence, and yes, I wasn't in the best of moods when I did go back, but I assure you that I had good reason not to fall into my friends' arms with joyous embrace. **(Author's Note: I hope you guys are noticing the **_**very**_** thick sarcasm that Max and Fang are oozing off them. I just wanted to make it blatantly clear that they did not turn into some proper British scholar/writer but are, in fact, being ridiculously sarcastic. The reason I point this out to you, audience, is because I wanted to make it clear that they are being sarcastic since apparently, in real life, whenever I'm sarcastic to other people around me, they don't realize it. So…there.)**

For the past two months I have experienced a hell so excruciating that if I were to describe it to you, you would starting sobbing like you've never seen the light of day and that there was no hope in the world. But since you didn't have to live through it, you have no right to cry for me or my brother, so I won't go into the details. All you need to know is that it left me bruised in the majority of my body, broken in more bones than I thought I had, and it left my soul shattered.

**(Author's Note: Before I write this next part, I just want to say that I don't want to offend anyone with these words. Max is just angry. Max needs to vent. So let Max vent. Thou shalt not preventest a girl to vent!) **I don't care whether it's wrong or not, but I _envy_ you, audience. You get to go home every day and snuggle up in your beds safe and sound. You get little kisses on the cheeks from your parents and they say goodnight right before you go to sleep. You know what I got. I got an abusive father who would go so far as to starve his two children nearly to death because he didn't believe they deserved to eat the food off his table and worship the ground beneath his feet. A father who would throw his son against the walls because he so much as existed. A father who would take bottles, chairs, anything he could get his grubby hands on and break them one by one on his daughter's head, arms, and body, trying to see how long until she _snapped_. That's the kind of father I got. That's the kind of father me and Ari had to stay with, alone, for _TWO FUCKING MONTHS._ And after two of the worst months I have ever experienced, I can say that I looked into the eyes of the devil himself more than once. You think your life sucks? Try living what I had to.

Well, when I came back, I expected to be hugged by my friends and for them to tell me that it would be all right, but do I get that? NO! I get a shitload of Fang screaming at me!

Here's the download of what _really_ happened:

Okay, so I was talking to Iggy and he, naturally, was wondering where I was and if I was okay or not. When I said yes, he didn't look convinced him, and when I was about to try and convince him, in walks the Swag King himself, practically barreling towards me.

"Where the hell have you been!?" Fang's voice boomed through the hallways. Thank God there was no one else there but us. **(Author's note: It seems like the hallways of this school are **_**always empty**_**!)**

"Vacation." That was my only answer because I _obviously_ couldn't tell him about my time with Jeb and how I thought he was the devil.

"No shit, Sherlock. I gathered that from when I asked the office ladies where you were. Why the hell didn't you call or text or something!" Fang, very rudely said this aloud.

I shrugged and mumbled about how there was no Wi-Fi or cell service at the cabin. Fang tried to say how I could have written a letter or something but he was cut off by Iggy. Whatever the rest Iggy said was drowned out by my thoughts. As my mind raced, a peculiar thought occurred to me. Why the hell would I write a _letter_?! I mean who writes letters at _all_ nowadays! That would just be weird!

Any who, Iggy kept on trying to make me talk to them which was really annoying considering that I didn't want to get yelled at again by Fang and I was still contemplating the idea of Jeb being Satan, so I brought my shutters down and locked everybody out.

As the day continued, my attitude only worsened what with my teachers asking about my absence and then giving me an elephant's shitload of crap to do. It especially didn't help with the fact that I knew that Ari would also have a ton of work, and since I ritually help him with his assignments, it meant that I now had _double_ a shitload of things to do.

At the end of the day, I was busting to get out school, but unfortunately Iggy still wanted me to talk to them. He rambled on and on about how things had been so boring without me there and asking for details of what happened on my trip. I mean seriously, the man was blabbing like Nudge! Eventually, I interrupted by saying, "I got to go. See ya tomorrow." Before he could say anything, I practically ran out of there.

I picked Ari up from the elementary school and together we headed home in silence. Once we arrived we both sort of slumped through the door and collapsed on the floor. Now don't be alarmed, audience. We weren't dying or anything (at least not yet). We were just extremely tired and a little banged up. After about 20 minutes of getting cozy with the floor, I finally rose to my feet, limped upstairs, got the First Aid kit, limped back downstairs, and began dressing some of Ari's wounds.

Before we left the cabin, our vacation destination, me and Ari had been riddled with gashes, scrapes, and bruises. Thankfully we had been blessed with being supernaturally fast healers and all our bruises had faded, our scrapes had disappeared, and our gashes had shrunk to bearable cuts. Unfortunately, this just left an aching feeling all over our bodies and the worst of cuts didn't fade as fast. Ari had many deep cuts on his hip from when Jeb had flung him onto several pieces of broken glass. I still had a black bruise on my stomach from when I had been used as a punching bag.

Using the First Aid kit, I cleaned the cuts on Ari's hip and I iced the bruise on my stomach. Soon the pain fled, but my sorrows didn't.

Usually when things get bad with Jeb, I try not to think about the bad things that has happened and I focus on Ari. But not this time. This time, I just about came to my breaking point. I started to sob. I sobbed for the life I wish I had, I sobbed for my mom and how I had let her go, I sobbed for Ari because he could never have a carefree life, and I sobbed for Fang and Iggy because I could never tell them about what I was suffering. As Ari huddled next to me, my mind raced back to something Fang had said to me once: "All I want is to know is the truth so that I can protect you…." But even if Fang knew the truth, then how could he possibly protect me from myself?

_It's your fault your mother died! You're a disease, a curse! Your fat, ugly, and a slut who passes her body around to guys when she thinks I don't notice, but you better watch yourself, little girl, because I notice a hell of a lot more things than you give me credit for!_ Jeb's words rolled through me like a tornado and blanketed my self-conscious. I don't know about the whole being a slut thing and about him noticing more than I give credit, but there was one thing Jeb said that was actually right:

It's all my fault.

**HELLO PEOPLE! Okay, so I just spent the past 3-4 hours writing this and now I feel surprisingly energized! It's weird…like me…don't judge me! Yea, that was a lie. I feel so tired right now it's not even funny! Any who…. Okay, so like I said before, I'm sorry for not updating in a year and I will try my best to keep this going. I love you all and I hope no one took offense to this and to be honest, if you did take offense, stop. This story was not meant to be offensive in anyway. It is just my ideas. So since I'm too tired to give a flying shit, if you take offense to this, go fuck yourself. Sorry. Just really tired. Fucking one's self aside, I SERIOUSLY LOVE ALL Y'ALL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. IF I SEEM A LITTLE CRAPPY AND IF THIS CHAPTER SUCKS, I AM SORRY BECAUSE LIKE I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, I'M TOO TIRED TO SEE STRAIGHT. BUT SINCE THIS MIGHT POSSIBLY BE A SUCKY CHAPPY, BLOW UP MY COMMENTS SECTION WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHAT NOT AND IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO INVOLVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY. YOU COULD JUST ASK ME WHAT MY FAVORITE FOODS ARE OR WHAT I LIKE TO DO IN MY FREE TIME OR MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER…WELL I THINK THAT I JUST TOOK THIS TO ANOTHER WEIRD LEVEL, SO BEFORE THIS ESCALATES TOO QUICKLY, I'M GONNA GO! READ, FOLLOW/FAVORITE, REVIEW, BECAUSE I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	12. Chapter 12

**GOOD DAY LADIES AND GENTS OF THE WORLD OF INTERNET DWELLERS! HOW ART THOU DOINGEST ON THINE FINE DAY?! Well, all formalities aside, I just want to say that I love you guys so much and that I hope y'all like this chappy!**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING SO DON'T SUE ME FOR MY MONEY. EVEN IF YOU DID, I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY SO THE JOKE IS ON YOU. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS THIS PLOT SO YES.**

**6 MONTHS AND 27 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

After a while, my gang stopped asking about what happened on the trip. They _finally_ got the sense not to ask and eventually things went back to normal. Well, _almost_ normal. Iggy, Fang, and I still had our playful banter, but there were times when they would catch me staring off, thinking. While nobody said it aloud, I knew they all were thinking the same thing: _What's wrong with Max? _It came to the point that every time I stared off into space, they would share a concerned look which really irritated me. And one time...

"Hey, Max. Max!" I snapped out of my reverie and looked up. Fang was staring at me with that familiar concerned look on his face. _Ugh._

"Yeah…?" I asked although I already knew what he was about to say.

"Are you okay? Because lately you've been acting strange and distant." Fang took a step forward and placed a hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"

I slapped his hand away. "I'm fine, dumbass! Just thinking about things." I continued walking. While I had been daydreaming, Fang and I had been walking out of school onto the parking lot. I tried in vain to remember what exactly we were talking about earlier and I cursed myself on the fact that I couldn't.

"What kind of things?" Fang tilted his head and gave me a smirk that made the butterflies in my stomach flutter.

"Things that are not of your concern." I walked faster. Fang kept pace.

"Max…" Fang's voice took a warning tone to it.

"Fang…" I said stubbornly. I made the mistake of looking at him and we locked eyes. His gaze was so intensely staring into mine that I thought he was looking right at my soul, stripping me down, secret by secret, lie by lie. I felt that he was looking and seeing the truth for the first time. I shivered at the thought.

We stayed like that, trapped in each other's gaze for all of five minutes. I broke eye contact first and looked down at the ground, the sky, anywhere but his eyes. Even though he had won our little stare-off, he still kept on looking at me, almost as if he was deciding what to do with me. Again, I shivered under his intense gaze. He seemed to have come to a conclusion when he stepped forward, and wrapped me in his arms.

We were so close. I could feel his muscles through his shirt and his breath on the side of my neck. My nose was flooded with his minty scent and my body was swathed in his warmth. I squirmed and struggled to get out of his grip, but he held on tighter to me. Now I know what you're thinking: why don't you want Fang to hug you? Isn't he the guy of your dreams or whatever? What's wrong with you? Now to answer your questions in order…

I didn't want to hug Fang for two reasons: 1) hugging Fang was just plain weird, what with him not being a touchy-feely kind of guy, and 2) He was too damn close. Just close your eyes and imagine my situation. An extremely gorgeous dude wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you in close. Your mind starts turning to mush, your heart is fluttering as fast as a hummingbird's wings can beat, and the butterflies in your stomach threaten to make you explode. Now multiply that feeling by ten. That's how I felt with Fang.

As for your second question, audience, isn't it pretty obvious by now? OF COURSE FANG IS THE MAN OF MY DREAMS. I just, you know, didn't know it yet. And for your third question, there are many things wrong with me. Don't judge.

Anyway, I finally gave into Fang's arms and relaxed. His arms wrapped around me like, well, a warm embrace, so strong and tender that I knew if my legs were to give out then, he would hold me up. I realized then that for the first time in ten years I felt like I didn't have to support the fate of my world on my shoulders. For the first time in ten years I felt like I didn't have to stand on my own. I knew Fang would stand with me, would pick me up when I fell down, would hold me when I felt all was lost. A warm feeling exploded in my chest and wrapped my heart in a bear hug, melting the ice that had resided there for the past two months. I tentatively wrapped my arms around Fang and buried my face in his chest. I felt him grin into my neck.

After twenty minutes, we reluctantly pulled away from each other. "How about this: you, me, and the rest of the gang get together and hang out tomorrow?" I suggested.

"Yeah okay. That would be cool." Fang flashed one of his very rare genuine smiles which made his eyes sparkle. I grinned back. It's kind of a good thing that Fang's real smiles were so rare. If he did it every day, then everyone around him would be in a constant state of blindness. His smile's brilliance lit up his eyes like the rising sun, causing them to have an excited, almost childlike, gleam to them. His cute button nose scrunched up ever so slightly and his cheeks formed dimples. And then there was the matter of his lips. They. Were. _Fine. _Even stretched in a smile they still had a full look to them and they looked so soft and kissable….It was at that moment I realized that I had been staring at Fang's lips for quite a long time. I snapped out of my reverie and blushed fiercely. It didn't help the fact that I found Fang staring at my lips as well.

I cleared my throat, getting Fang's attention and inducing a blush of his own. "So, um, until tomorrow…bye." And with that, I left before things could get any more awkward.

**TWO HOURS LATER**

My newfound, high-spirits plummeted once I got home. It was Friday, the one unfortunate day of the week that Jeb has the entire day off from work, which means that he spends the entire day soaking up the booze and getting pissed about how crappy his life was. As usual, Ari and I snuck in through the back door only to find Jeb waiting for us.

Upon first sight of him, Ari whimpered and I pushed him slightly behind me towards the door in case he'd have to run for it. In my most cold and level voice, I said, "Jeb."

I immediately tensed up, ready for the blow that would soon follow. Instead, Jeb only sighed.

"I suppose I deserve that, huh," Jeb chuckled sadly and put his head between his hands.

"Deserve what?" I resisted the urge to wince at how sharp my voice was.

"The fact that you probably see me as a mindless, raging asshole instead of your father." Jeb looked at me through his fingers. His words shook my core. His eyes were slightly red. It could have been from drinking and being spitting mad or it could also have been from…crying. I had expected him to be drunk and mad, but could it be that he was sober? As soon as the hope crept into my heart, I squashed it immediately. No use wasting something as precious as hope when I already had such a short supply.

"What's your angle, Jeb? What do you want?" I cocked my head and folded my arms over my chest.

"No angle, Maximum. Just sadness at what I've done to you and Ari. Let me just say that I am so-"at this he stood up and moved as if to reach for me. I jerked away and completely blocked his way from Ari. Jeb flinched and lowered his outstretched hand-"sorry. I know there is nothing I can do to make it up to you and Aristotle (Ari's full name, which he hates to hear by the way). But let me at least say this: I swear on your mother's grave that I will never touch a beer bottle again and that I will never raise my hand against you kids again."

I felt Ari start to step towards Jeb, but I held him back. "Ari, would please go to my room for a moment." When he began to object, I said, "Now." Ari reluctantly slid past me and Jeb and slinked up the stairs. I waited for his door to shut to continue. "You're right about one thing, Jeb. There is _nothing_ you can do to make it up to us. No amounts of sorry's and hugs can _ever_ make up for all the pain you have caused us. And you're right about another thing. I do see you as a mindless raging asshole. Just add a lot more colorful words to the mix and you'll get a completely accurate description of yourself. But here's where you're wrong, Jeb. We are _not_ kids anymore. You'd be amazed how getting beaten senseless from the majority of ten years matures a person. And more over, we are not _your_ kids and you are not _our_ father. You lost that right the first time you smacked me and Ari. So I'm going to say this only once, so you better listen well. I don't know what you're trying to do with this whole sorrowful, grieved father thing you've got going on, but I don't trust you. Hell, I don't even trust you as far as I can throw you because that would be way too much room for you to stab me in the back. If you're really trying to change, good for you. Otherwise, I don't give a damn. All I know and all you _need_ to know is that if you so much as harm a hair on Ari's cute little head, you'll find a knife twisted in _your_ back. That I guarantee." I spun around and charged up the stairs before Jeb could say any other lies. About halfway up the stairs, I stopped and glanced at Jeb over my shoulder. "And don't you _dare_ speak of my mother again. If Mom were here, she would hate you as much as I do." I quickly ran up the stairs to avoid the tortured look on Jeb's face.

When I got upstairs, Ari frowned and opened his mouth as if he were about to lecture me. I held up my hand and said, "Not now, kiddo. I gotta think about somethings." And with that, I went over to my bed and curled up facing the wall. It may have appeared that I was asleep, but my mind was actually racing. To my annoyance, most of my thoughts centered on how sad and broken Jeb looked, how he slouched in his chair, how he flinched and grimaced at the venom in my voice and the coldness in my eyes. I immediately felt horrible, but justified it by reminding myself of all the bad things Jeb had done to us. _Still doesn't mean it was right to snap at a pathetic, broken little man, Maxie._ The metaphorical angel, which looked suspiciously a lot like Angel, whispered in my ear. _Shut up! No one likes a goody two-shoes!_ The metaphorical devil, which looked suspiciously like Gazzy, snapped at the angel that looked like Angel. The angel that looked like Angel huffed and disappeared in a puff of white smoke while the devil that looked like Gazzy snickered and disappeared in a mass of red flames.

_Great, Max. Now you're hallucinating. What's next, you'll hear a Voice in your head?_ I expelled all my outer thoughts and focused on something easy. "Hey, Ari. You wanna come with me and the gang and hang out tomorrow?" I had turned around and was now looking up at Ari who was still standing in my doorway. All his previous disapproval of what I had said to Jeb flew out the window and was replaced with glee on the prospect of hanging out with friends. He then continued to ask me a million questions about where we were going and stuff, all of which I said I didn't know, but it didn't really bother Ari. He was just glad he could tag along, especially with the possibility of seeing Angel again. I giggled at his adorabsness **(Author's Note: THERE'S THAT WORD AGAIN! I FREAKING LOVE IT ;) **and tried to push back any thoughts about Jeb.

A couple hours later when the house was still and everyone was asleep, I went downstairs to grab a midnight snack. When I opened the fridge, I nearly fell back in shock. There wasn't a single can or rack of booze to be seen….

**THERE'S MY CHAPPY FOR YOU GUYS! So what do you guys think? Could Jeb have really changed or is it too good to be true? Comment your thoughts and what you have enjoyed about this story so far, please! I love you all and I hope you guys have awesome days and awesome lives. Read, comment, follow/favorite, enjoy! DOCTOR BESSY OUT.**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all you beautiful peeps! Doctor Bessy is in the house with a new chappy for y'all! Hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Shit. I don't know how many times I have to keep sayin' it, but I don't own none of this. Except the plot. And a sandwich. And my laptop. But besides that I own nothing. So yes….**

**6 MONTHS AND 26 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

I woke up with a start. My eyes flashed open and I took in Ari's small form standing over me, trying to shake me awake.

"Max, come ON. If you don't hurry up, we'll be late! Wake UP." Ari continued to shake me.

"Alright, alright. I'm awake, you little mongrel," I chuckled as I playfully slapped him away from me. "Now get out so I can change." Groaning, I rolled out of bed. Usually, Ari and I would be much stealthier waking up, but on account that it was a Saturday, the one day of the week we were completely free of Jeb, we felt free to be as loud as we wanted.

An image of Jeb's sad, pathetic expression flashed across my vision, but I quickly dismissed it. _No use getting all worked up about something when I already know the end result_, I reasoned with myself as I grabbed some clothes to change into.

Fifteen minutes later, Ari and I were out the door and headed towards Fang's house. About halfway there, we saw a figure running to catch up to us.

"MAX. ARI. YO." Iggy screamed from across the street. We halted and watched as he jogged towards us, doubled over, and starting gasping and wheezing like a fish out of water.

"Hey, are you okay, Ig?" I set my hand on his back and patted encouragingly.

"Does it…look like…I'm…okay?" Iggy managed to say through gasps. "I…just ran…all the _fucking_ way...here."

"First of all, watch your mouth in front of Ari." Next to me, I heard Ari mutter, "Hypocrite" but I chose to ignore it and continued on. "Secondly, why the hell didn't you take your pickup truck?" I place my hands on my hips and look down at Iggy's still struggling form through narrowing eyes.

"Couldn't…it's in the shop…I crashed it…into a pole…the other day…" Iggy had slightly recovered and was now standing up straighter.

"Poor pole," I mumbled. I laughed as Iggy glared at me.

"Guys, come ON. Let's stop blabbing and GO already!" Ari danced around in a hurry and I was once again, for the millionth time, struck by how cute he was.

"Okay, okay, Mr. Antsy-Pants. Lead the way and we'll be right behind you." Ari huffed and started off, Iggy and I falling into step behind him. A couple of blocks later, we were standing in front of Fang's house and step inside. (We used a key Mrs. Martinez gave us. What with us always popping in and out, she eventually got too exasperated to answer the constantly ringing doorbell.)

"Max! Ari!" Ella strolled up to us and smiled. But before I could respond, Ella had looked past us at Iggy. "IGGY! I didn't know you would be here. What's up?" Ella sidled up to Iggy and batted her eyelashes.

My eyebrows shot up to new heights as Iggy replied: "Nothing much. How 'bout you?" Iggy gave her one of his famous half smiles and I wouldn't have been surprised if she melted into a puddle right then and there. I grabbed Ari's hand and we drifted away to the kitchen to give them some space.

"What's wrong with Ella?" Ari asked me once we were a littles away.

"Hormones, sweetie." I grimace in disgust.

"What are hormones?" Ari continued to look up at me with curious, big eyes.

"A regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action," Angel answered as she walked into the room. Upon her presence, Ari immediately went into fawning mode.

"Hey, Angel," Ari beamed.

"Hi, Ari," Angel smiled in return.

"You're so smart. How did you know that about hormones?" Ari gushed.

"Well, I like to read some of the big kid books at school and some of them talk about stuff like that. Like there was this one big book..." I didn't hear the rest of their conversation because I had already moved away. Ella was flirting with Iggy at the door and Ari was flirting with Angel in the kitchen. I knew that if I tried to find Nudge, she would ramble nonstop and Gazzy would try to convince me to light some innocent building on fire, and I didn't feel I was ready for any of _that_ yet, which left only one possibility…Fang. The thought of him sent a shiver of warmth and excitement through my system. My mind flashed back to yesterday in the parking lot and I immediately felt flustered. I guess I was so preoccupied with my thoughts, that I didn't realize that I had wandered upstairs and I wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"Hey, Max," Fang whispered in my ear. I whirled around and swung a punch at him. Unfortunately, what with him being a friggin' ghost, he slipped away before his face could meet my fist. "Calm down, would ya? It's just me," he chuckled.

"Oh," I relaxed slightly, then walked up to him and punched his arm. Well, I attempted to punch his arm, but his supernatural powers helped him avoid me. "Dammit, Fang! Get back here!"

"Why, so you can punch me, or should I say _try_ to?" He smirked as he skillfully swept past my body and ended up behind me. I swiveled around and placed my hands on my hips.

"Yes. That is exactly what you should do. It is a just punishment for you sneaking up on me." I scowled at his arrogant grin.

"Says who?" He tilted his head to the side and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Says me. Now stand still so I can kindly hand your ass to you." I stomped forward and to my surprise and ever growing suspicion, Fang stayed put.

"I'd like to see you try." He smirked. "I bet you won't be able to lay a single pu-" before he could finish, I had already kicked his legs out from under him, causing his body to fall towards my awaiting fist. At the last possible second, he twisted out of the way, got his feet under him, and appeared behind me. Without even looking, I swung my foot around for a roundhouse kick, but Fang caught my heel in the air. He pulled me off my balance and before I fell I dragged him to the ground with me. We wrestled for what felt like ages and for a while I was on top.

"What was that about how I wouldn't land a punch on you, asshole?" I smirked. Unfortunately my arrogance withered away when Fang bucked out from under me and wrestled me back to the ground, this time with him on top and me on bottom.

"I said you couldn't land a punch on me, not a kick, dumbass." He flashed my smirk right back at me and my scowl deepened. But no matter how hard I bucked, I couldn't get out from under him. Who knew ghosts had super strength.

Never let it be said that I didn't know when I was beat. I stopped struggling and glared up at him. "Fine you win, you dick. Now let me go already."

"Ah, ah, ah, Max. It isn't nice to call people bad names. Besides, I think I kinda like you being under me." Fang's smirk turned to a wicked grin.

"Oh, don't be a perv! Now let me go or I swear that I will kick your ass to the moon." Dammit, Fang was, is, and always will be the most pompous ass I have ever had the displeasure of befriending and loving. Man, I seriously need a better taste in men.

"Oh, I'm so scared. You have me quaking in my nonexistent boots. If you want to get up, you have to be nice and say the magic word."

By that point was only listening to half of the things he was saying because I was too busy trying to not hyperventilate. What with me being so angry before, I didn't notice how little space there was between us. In fact, I could feel the heat off of his skin, filling my body with heat. I could feel my ears and my cheeks blazing. It had been warm out that day, so I had only worn a thin tank and shorts. If I had known this would have happened, I would've worn a wool sweater and thick sweatpants no matter how many strange stares I got. Oh, and another thing. Did I mention that Fang didn't have a shirt on? No? My bad. But you really should have expected it, what with the universe having it out for me, of course the guy I liked just had to tackle me while half naked. Just. Fucking. Perfect. And did I mention this man is ripped. Because he has the six pack of a _god_. And I don't care if it's possible or not, but I'm pretty sure that his _muscles_ have muscles. No? It's not possible you say? Well take a damn good look at Fang and tell me if it's possible then.

All these thoughts and more crowded my brain and enflamed my cheeks. Seeing my distress and embarrassment, Fang leaned in closer and laughed softly. "Max, Max, Max. Shame on you for thinking such lewd thoughts. Who's the pervert now?"

"I-I w-wasn't…" I stammered and cursed myself and my ancestors for making me weak when it came to Fang.

"All you gotta do is say the magic word and I'll get off." He was so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. I involuntarily shivered.

"Fang, p-ple-"

"EW EW EW EW EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! CAN YOU TWO PLEASE GET A ROOM! I'D RATHER YOU GUYS _NOT_ HAVE SEX IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY. I _DON'T_ WANT TO CLEAN UP THAT MESS!" Nudge stood over us with her arms crossed and a look of utter disgust on her face.

Good news: Nudge had just saved me from embarrassing myself even further by saying the "magic word". I had never used that word for anyone before and I wasn't going to start now.

Bad news: What with Nudge's loud mouth, the entire house heard what we may or may not have been up to.

When I heard Iggy, Ella, Angel, and Ari race up the stairs, all I could do was lay my head back down on the floor and groan.

"I WANNA SEE!" Iggy came into the hallway first, with wild eyes and his phone out.

"Iggy, NO!" Ella grabbed onto him.

"Let go, Ella! It's not every day I get to watch my little Max become a woman! I need to capture this precious moment." Iggy struggled and tried to hold his hand up at the same time to video tape, but his grip slacked with Ella's struggling and his phone eventually fell.

"First of all, what the hell is wrong with you! Secondly, we are NOT having sex! Nudge just assumed that we were and decided that the whole world should know!" I shot an acid glare at Nudge, but she just shrugged. I huffed and continued on. "Thirdly, why? Just…WHY?! What the hell is wrong with you! While I screamed at Iggy, Fang stooped down and picked up Iggy's phone.

"This is your phone, right?" Fang held it up.

"Yea…" Iggy scowled.

"Ok." Fang slammed the phone onto the ground and ground it to powder under his foot.

"Whaaa…WHAT THE HELL MAN! THAT'S MY PHONE YOU'RE SMASHING!" Iggy's face was beet red.

"I know. You just told me." Fang's face was completely 100% neutral.

"Why…would…you…break…my…phone!"

"Because you were trying to take a creepy video and being a perv."

"THAT'S NO REASON FOR YOU TO CRUSH SOMEBODY'S PHONE YOU ASSHOLE!" Iggy tackled Fang and started dealing out punches before Fang bucked him off and kicked him in the groin.

"Guys, STOP!" I yelled, but my voice was overshadowed by Nudge screaming, "KICK HIM WHERE IT HURTS!" To whom, I have no idea and I don't think the boys knew either, but it still got them to fight regardless.

I was about to jump both of them and wallop their asses, but I felt a little tug on the hem of my shirt. Looking down, I saw that it was Ari. "Ari, not now I gotta stop these idiots from killing each other."

"Maaaxxxxxxxxxx. I have a question. And I wanna know noooooowwwwwwww." Ari whined. Annoyed, I stooped down to his level and gestured for him to continue. "Okay. What does "sex" mean?"

Hearing this, my entire body froze and a sinking feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. "Uh…um…well…" The more I stuttered, the more flustered I became.

"Hey, Ari. I know what "sex" means." Gazzy giggled.

"Really?" Angel looked doubtful.

"Yeah. Come here and I'll tell you." Angel and Ari went to Gazzy and he started whispering in their ears. I was too flustered and shocked to stop them from learning the horrifying truth. Midway into Gazzy's explanation, Angel choked with disgust, but Ari shushed her so they could hear what Gazzy was saying. Finally, Gazzy leaned back and burst out laughing.

"So…that's where babies come from?" Angel's eyes were wide with shock and enlightenment.

"Max always told me that a magical stork delivered me to my house on my birthday." Ari wheeled on me and his eyes were filled with confusion and a slight hint of betrayal. "And all these years, I thought that I was not only adopted but also half-stork! What else did you lie to me about, Max? Is there even an Easter Bunny or Santa Clause? Next, you'll be saying that there are mutant bird children who fly around defeating evil wolf people called Erasers or something and trying to save the world from one twisted plot after the other. It's crazy!"

"I agree. Plus there's no way that a baby can fit through such a small hole. The only explanation is the stork. Plus, if the magical stork wasn't real, then that would mean Santa and the Easter Bunny weren't real either, making our world a sad, sad place." Angel and Ari nodded in agreement and I nearly collapsed with relief. If Ari had believed Gazzy…I don't know what I would have done. That is one nightmare I am not willing to happen.

One problem solved, another one to go. I turned my attention back to Iggy and Fang and was about to pull them apart when Mrs. Martinez screamed, "ALL OF YOU PEOPLE SHUT UP! Jesus! What in the world is wrong with you people! You'd think that the one day of the week when I get time off of work that you would be considerate enough to be quiet so I can get some _sleep_! But, _NOOOO_, you guys feel the need to fight and yell and talk about sex!" Fang tried to apologize but Mrs. Martinez held her hand up. "I don't want to hear a word from you, young man. Go to your room. All of you, go to your rooms!" Fang, Nudge, Ella, Gazzy, and Angel all slunk into their respective rooms.

Not knowing what to do, I raised my hand. "Uh, Mrs. Martinez?"

"What?" She snapped.

"Ummm, we don't live here." I answered meekly.

For a moment she just stared at me blankly. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She didn't have to tell us twice. We were out the door before she could do something crazy like grab a shotgun or something. Seeing us leave, Mrs. Martinez rubbed her face. "I need to take a nap."

So much for hanging out today.

**HEY GUYZZZZZ! BEFORE YOU MURDER ME, LET ME JUST APOLOGIZE AND SAY THAT I AM SORRY FOR NOT WRITING. BUT HEY, AT LEAST YOU GUYS DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, RIGHT? So on that positive note, I decided to write this insane, quirky chappy for y'all with a dash of FAX added into the mix as well. Hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to tell me what I do wrong and right in making this story! I LOVE YOU ALL! R &amp; R, please! Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL MY PEEPS!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	14. Chapter 14

**HELLO EVERYONE! I LOVE YOU ALL! MARRY ME! Ok, so that escalated quickly. Anywhooooooo….so I'm back with a new chappy for y'all! I hope you enjoy it, and if you don't, sucks to be you! Jk, jk…maybe. Now before I start rambling, I think it would be good for me to start this chappy…yeah.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, a life, or any friends.**

**6 MONTHS AND 3 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

"Ari, wake up." I whispered into my little brother's ear as I gently shook him awake.

"Nhmmm," he mumbled and tried to roll away from me. Normally I would have let him sleep for a tad bit longer, but we needed to get to school early today, plus we were already, oh, twenty minutes behind our _normal_ schedule.

"_Ari,_" I hissed and yanked him a little harder. Still no reply. Getting frustrated, I stood up, went to the foot of his bed, and unceremoniously jerked the covers off and skillfully created a mattress-like mass of sheets on the floor. Then, with great care, grabbed the edges of Ari's bed mattress and flipped him onto the sheet covered floor.

"_Ow!_ What the he-"

"_Shhhhhhhhhhhh." _I hissed at him and frantically motioned to the door, signaling that Jeb was home, so we were in enemy territory. Ari's eyes widened and he zipped his mouth so tight that his lips were almost blue. "Get dressed." Nodding, he grabbed his clothes and began to pull off his nightgown. While Ari dressed, I grabbed his covers and his mattress and replaced them onto his bed. I then packed his backpack and started to comb his hair. I know what you're thinking: "Aw, look at Max being all motherly." Well somebody's gotta do it and I'll be damned if I let Jeb lay one hand on Ari's precious little head.

After Ari's terminal case of bedhead was somewhat sorted out, we began to tiptoe down the stairs and into the exit hallway. Noiselessly we slipped on our shoes in case we had to bolt before we were finished grabbing something to eat. Then we headed into the kitchen as quiet as ninjas. The sight that greeted us is still a shock to me today.

"Ari! Max! You're up. Great. Sit down and let's eat!" Before us stood Jeb, with oven mitts on his hands, a "Kiss the Cook" apron over his work clothes, and a goofy smile on his face.

"J-Jeb. I…I thought you were asleep." Feeling trapped, my eyes flicked from side to side, plotting the best escape route while I naturally slid Ari behind me and closer to the front door.

"I realized that we haven't had a family breakfast in a while and I thought we could do that today. I made blueberry pancakes and chocolate chip cookies. You want some?" Jeb extended out a cookie as if it were a peace offering. The man may have been a scientist, but he was just plain stupid if he thought a single cookie would erase all the evil things he had done to us and this family.

One of the many things you, dear audience, must learn about me is that my one weakness—besides Ari and Fang—is chocolate chip cookies. I would take a _bullet_ for those things. Just thinking about it now, I could really go for one of those…the flaky, buttery crust…the gooey chocolate bits…the sugary interior that you know might give you diabetes but you just don't care…yup, I love me some chocolate chip cookies.

_Anyway_…before I get too distracted with the delicious allure of cookies, I shoved past Jeb's hand and muttered, "I'm not hungry." It was at that moment that my stomach chose to screw me over and growl. Damn black hole of a thing.

"Well, I think your stomach says otherwise." Jeb chuckled and cocked his head to the side in an almost affectionate gaze. Cheeky bastard.

"We don't have time to eat. Ari and I have to get to school and we are already behind schedule enough thanks to your useless babbling." Crossing my arms, I stared him down.

To my annoyance, Jeb just shrugged and turned to Ari. "_You_ may not have time, but _Ari_ might. So how about it, Ari? You want a cookie?" Jeb kneeled down to Ari's level so he could look him in the eye.

Ari's gaze flicked to me to Jeb and back until he finally looked down at his feet and said, "Just one wouldn't kill me." Before the look of hurt that I knew I would have could morph my face, I looked away and fought to remain neutral.

"Alright, kiddo! Here you go." Jeb handed Ari a cookie which he devoured in two seconds flat.

"Mmmmm. Fthes ez frealry smood!" That sounded like gibberish, yes? What Ari meant to say was "This is really good" but he was too busy stuffing his face with another three cookies for him to speak English properly.

"Thanks. See, Max. Ari likes them. Are you sure you don't want one?" Jeb turned his brown eyes to me and looked almost pleadingly.

I stared back until I had to look away. "I said I'm not hungry. Let's go Ari." Without another word I grabbed Ari's hand and practically dragged him out the door.

"Why do we have to go to school so early?" Ari asked as we plodded through the streets in the early light.

"Because I have to do a project with Iggy and Fang."

"Why do you have to do a project with Iggy and Fang?" Ari continued on as he splashed in some nearby puddle.

"Because it's for a grade."

"Why's it for a grade?"

"Because my teacher's a dic-I mean a really bad dude." I pathetically tried to cover up my slip.

"Why is he a really bad dude?"

"Because he is."

"Why is he though."

"Because you keep asking useless questions."

"Why am I asking useless questions?"

For a moment, I just stopped and stared at Ari as his wide eyes gazed playfully into mine. If I were a different person looking in on this conversation, I might say that my face at that moment would read _"How the hell would I know?"_ to which Ari's face would reply "_Because you have all the answers."_

"You're asking useless questions because you're bored."

"I wouldn't be bored if we hadn't woken up so early." Ari grinned and purposefully splashed me, soaking the hem of my jeans in mud. Any normal human being would have recoiled in disgust and outrage. Me? Nah. I was beyond caring; just add that stain to my collection.

"Well you won't be bored for much longer. And you know why?" I nudged him out of the street before he could get hit by a car.

"Why?" Ari continued on his merry way as if he hadn't just faced impending death by cab.

"Because Angel will be at school, too." At this, Ari immediately perked up.

"Really?" He bounced on his feet and basically acted like a sugar filled puppy.

"Yep."

Ari whirled around and began to race across the sidewalk, shouting behind him, "Hurry up, Max. We're gonna be late."

_Says the boy who was complaining about waking up early just five minutes ago._ I snorted to myself. Ah, young love. If only things were that simple for me.

"Hey, Max. Hey, Ari." Iggy came up to us as we entered into the science lab. Normally I would have dropped Ari off at the elementary school, but seeing how it was, like, 5 a.m. his school was obviously not open yet.

"Hey, Iggy. Have you guys started the project already?" I shoved my hands into my back pockets and cocked my head to the side.

"Nah. We gathered all the materials needed, though. At least I'm pretty sure we have it all. Let's go through it, shall we? We have hydrochloric acid, potassium oxide, liquid nitrogen, helium, methane…," Iggy droned on as he listed the items he had splayed out on the desk.

"Geez, what are you guys making, a bomb?" Ari whispered to me.

"Hopefully not." I whispered back, inducing a chuckle from him.

"…chlorine, phosphate, dynamite, tin-"

"Wait, dynamite! Why the hell do we have dynamite!" I rushed over to the table, grabbed the stick of highly dangerous explosive, and proceeded to shake it in Iggy's face. If Ari hadn't been there standing witness, I probably would have slapped Iggy around with it and then shoved it up his…you know what I mean.

"I thought it would add a little kick to our project." Iggy grinned his goofball of a grin and it made me question how exactly he was a pyrotechnical genius.

"No. We are not adding explosives to our science project. End of discussion." I slid the dynamite into a plastic bag and threw it out the window where it landed on a bush.

"Hey, Iggy, I couldn't find anymore copper mesh, but would aluminum work-?" Carrying a large crate of even more supplies, Fang walked in and glanced at me over his armful. "Oh, Max. You're late."

"Well good morning to you too, Mr. Sunshine." I rolled my eyes.

"Now that you are finally here," Fang continued on as if I hadn't spoken, "make yourself useful and help me with this box?"

Raising my hands to my chin in a mock thinking pose, I pretended to contemplate it and then said, "Nah, I'm good. It seems like you have it all pretty much covered. And look on the bright side: it may be heavy but at least it will help tone your muscles for the ladies." I winked at his grimacing face and sauntered over to Ari. "Ari you don't have to hang around here with us boring folk." Turning back to Fang seeing that his hands were now boxless, I asked, "Where's Angel?"

"She's in the cafeteria reading." Brushing fake lint off his pants, Fang straightened up.

"That's my cue to leave. Good luck on your project!" Ari was out the door before he had even finished his sentence.

"Alright, let's do this shit." I clapped my hands together and we began.

"Um…guys. I have a quick question. What the hell are we making here exactly?" I rubbed my neck and laughed as Fang whirled towards me.

"Are you kidding me! Did you not pay attention to _anything_ our teacher said?!" Fang's nostrils flared and I swear one of his blood vessels looked like they were about to pop.

"Not a word," I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly which just made Fang angrier. "So what are we making?"

"We're testing to see how thermite reacts to different substances," Fang said with an annoyed sigh.

"But isn't that kind of, oh I don't know, deadly?" I was just wondering if _anyone else_ saw the absolute insanity of this science experiment. I'm pretty sure our chemistry teacher was trying to make us dig our own graves.

"That's what makes it fun," Iggy's muffled voice answered. I looked up to see Iggy trying to get his stick of dynamite out of the bush outside.

"As long as we're careful, nobody will get hurt," Fang walked over to Iggy, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and nearly hurled him halfway across the room, all while answering me in a calm voice. "Right, Iggy?"

"Yeah, man. Just don't throw me again." Scratching the back of his neck, Iggy, dramatically, stood up. "That _hurt_."

"Good. Now for future notice, DO NOT PUT THE THERMITE ANYWHERE NEAR HEAT. Okay? Thermite + Heat = BOOM." With every word he said, Fang enunciated his words with his hands as if he were a parent trying to tell his children to not lick the electrical socket.

"OKAY. Now stop being a dumbass and let's work." Grabbing a couple pairs of gloves and goggles, I chucked them at Iggy and Fang and took some for myself.

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who don't know what thermite it, it is a chemical used in explosives and is highly reactive to heat. To those of you that do know what thermite is, I apologize if I'm using it the wrong way in my story. I am literally not even out of middle school yet so **_**excuse me**_** if I don't know how to properly manage thermite.)**

"Hand me the potassium oxide." Fang held his hands out and Iggy placed the chemical into them.

"Nitrogen and phosphate." Iggy didn't even look up as I handed him the materials.

"Hydroc-" I didn't even get the full word out of my mouth as Fang handed just what I needed.

"Here." Without looking up he continued his work and with a smile I continued mine. We worked like that for a while, and eventually we didn't have to say anything because one of our trio would know just what we needed. For a while, everything seemed to be working fine; our experiment was working according to plan and our results were terrific, Fang, Iggy, and I were working like a well-oiled machine, and we would have finished in no time if the devil in pink heels hadn't shown up to ruin the party.

"FANGIE POO! Oh my GOD, I didn't know YOU would be here. It's, like, fate or something." Clicking her dangerously high stilettos together, Lissa hobbled into the room.

"Lissa what are you doin-" Fang was muffled and practically suffocated to death because Lissa had the oh so bright idea to plant her big, fat, FAKE, lips on Fang's.

_Fucking whore_. "Lissa…what are you doing here?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"First of all, Max, it isn't nice to call a person a "fucking whore". It's rude and impolite." Lissa mimicked my position by trying to cross her arms over her own bulbous chest, but when her boobs got in the way, she settled for placing her hands on her equally bulbous hips.

"Whoops, did I say that out loud? Sorry I have this thing called a _mouth_ that has the annoying habit of saying the truth. And yes, Lissa, mouths are used for other reasons besides sucking dick." Hearing Iggy failing to muffle chortled laughter made me grin cockily.

"Max, there's no need for you to be so bitter. I know you're still hung up on your mom dying, but you gotta get over it." Lissa batted her pretty little eyes at me in mock innocence.

My eyes grew wide and I involuntarily took a step forward. I would have taken another and one after that until I decked her pretty little ass, but Iggy grabbed my arm before I could.

"Breathe, Max. She's not worth it," he whispered in my ear and I struggled to heed his advice. "Not cool, Lissa." Looking up at him I saw Iggy's pale blue eyes staring daggers and if looks could kill his would have murdered her in ways that weren't even invented yet. If push came to shove, I knew that Iggy had my back which reassured me slightly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Fang had the common sense to untangle himself from her scrawny arms and get some distance from her.

"Sorry, Fangie Poo. I was just trying to give her some friendly advice. Personally I don't get why she's all worked up. Is it something I said?" Lissa cocked her head to the side and screwed her lips to the side.

"No, it's just your general existence that's got her "all worked up". If you have no reason for being here, _leave_," Iggy hissed.

"Ouch. That hurts Ignacio. And here I thought all this time that we were friends," puffing her lips out in a pout, Lissa turned back to Fang. "And actually I _do_ have a reason for being here. Right, Dylan?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately we're lab partners." Dylan swaggered into the room with a lopsided grin on his face. Despite saying how "unfortunate" it was to be lab partners with Lissa, he didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. I frowned.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. You know you love being lab partners with me," Lissa purred like the little seductress she is.

"Makes you wonder the extent of their "partnership"," Iggy quipped, resulting in both me and Fang attempting to elbow him in the nuts.

"To what are you implying, Ignacio?" Dylan looked at Iggy through his wavy hair.

"First of all, don't call me Ignacio. And that goes for you too, you redheaded bimbo. Secondly, I'm just saying that there might be more than one whore in the room," Iggy said after he skillfully avoided getting hit in the nuts.

"Iggy, Iggy, Iggy. I know you're upset but there's no need to lash it out on me." Holding his hands up as if surrendering, he said, "I'm not your enemy. Instead of fighting, I think it would be a wise decision if we all just calmed down and tried to make good of a bad situation, okay?"

"Fine," I grumbled. "If you can keep Lissa on your side then I'll _consider_ not ripping her hair out."

"That's my girl, Max," Almost in a trance I watched as Dylan moved to my side and gave me a kiss on my forehead. Without saying another word, he took Lissa by the hand and moved to the other side of the room with her.

I was blushing before I could stop myself and I tried to hide it by coughing into my hand like a nerd. "Alright, guys, now that that's settled, let's get back to work." Hearing Fang and Iggy grumble their consent, I looked to my right and saw that Fang's face was neutral, but when I glanced down I saw his hands were shaking because of how tight his fists were clenched. Frowning, I tried to ignore the part of my brain that wondered why he was so pissed and dismissed it as him PMSing.

If you have ever been in a high school classroom in your life, you know that they aren't the biggest rooms in the world. And with five kids and a shitload of chemicals and equipment you can bet your ass that there wasn't nearly enough space between me and Lissa to avoid conflict. In order for that to happen, you would need to move her to a different planet, preferably Venus where the acid rain would fit right in to her acid personality. And if _that's_ not possible, you could always just dump her on the Sun.

I admit, most of the struggles I have with people tends to be _partially_ my fault, but this time I was innocent!

You see what happened is this: I was minding my own business and working on our project when Lissa felt the need to announce loudly to everyone that she was going in the back to get some more sulfuric acid mixed with hydrogen peroxide. Ignoring her, I kept right on working like a contributive member of society should. A couple of minutes later, I could hear her come back into the room, and then all of a sudden, she _trips_ and I feel this liquid go onto the back of my shirt. At first I didn't realize what was happening, but then my brain got the picture. Lissa just tripped. With a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide in her hands. And looking down, I could see that she still had the beaker where the acid had been, but the acid wasn't _inside_ of it anymore. There was something wet on me and it felt like my skin was burning off. In other words, I was fucked.

"SHIT." Fang screamed as he dropped the thermite he was holding onto a hot plate and charged toward me, Iggy spilled some bleach as he jumped over a countertop, and Dylan hurdle jumped over Lissa. At the moment, they were probably moving incredibly fast, but to me it felt like everything was in slow motion. At that time, I must have still been in shock because I didn't quite understand why everyone was running towards. But then my brain reminded me how I had sulfuric acid mixed with hydrogen peroxide on my back, and then I thanked my brain for being such an advocate believer in reminding me of all the bad things that happen to me.

Without so much as a word, nevertheless a warning, Fang ripped my shirt off. Now I know what you're thinking, _"Fang, this is not the time to try to get in Max's pants. Although it would be much obliged, this is _not_ the _time." I assure you, dear reader, that Fang was not trying to get into my pants, unfortunately. You see, he was merely trying to prevent the sulfuric acid hydrogen peroxide mixture from eating away at my skin. Knowing this fact didn't spare him from my wrath, however.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING YOU PERVERT!" I roundhouse kicked him to the other side of the room.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAX, I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE, DUMBASS. THAT FUCKING HURT!" Fang screamed back.

"SAVE MY LIFE BY TAKING OFF MY SHIRT?!" In my rage, I didn't even care that I was wearing a pretty skimpy bra. I was livid.

"YES. Oh and by the way, nice tits." Fang smirked. I decided then and there that no matter how much I may love him, I was going to give him an ass whooping that he would _never_ forget.

"I'M. GOING. TO. KILL. YOU." I ground between my clenched teeth.

"I'd like to see you try," Fang taunted. All of a sudden, his expression went from sarcastic to concerned. "Is it just me or does anyone else see the smoke coming out of Max's ears?"

"It's not coming from her ears, it's coming from her ass!" Iggy pointed to my butt as trails of smoke whisked in the air while the sulfuric acid hydrogen peroxide mix ate a hole in my pants.

"What the hell-" I screamed as again, without warning, my clothes were ripped off of me, this time by Iggy. Violently he yanked my jeans out from under me.

"I think that should be good. I don't think the sulfuric acid got to your underwear yet." Dylan with happiness and relief as if my life had just been saved instead of being disrobed violently by a bunch of teenage boys in a classroom. "Just to be on the safe side, though, you might want to get rid of your underwear." When he saw my glare, he shrugged, "Or not. By the way, nice ass."

"Nice virgin panties," Lissa snorted.

"At least I still _have_ my virginity, unlike you." I retorted and was irritated to feel that my nostrils were flaring. "And it's your fault that I'm naked! All because you "tripped"."

"You say that like I meant to trip. That hurts, Max." Again with that damn fake pouting! _Does this bitch have any other facial expressions?!_

"You know what else will hurt. Me, shoving my foot up your loose, whorish ass!" I yelled as I lunged for her. Before the boys could tackle me or get me to stop, I had already grabbed a handful of Lissa's hair and yanked her into the wall.

"Max calm the fuck down!" Fang tried to grab me but I whirled around and decked him. Remember how I said I had decided to give him an epic ass whooping. Guess what time it is…ass whooping time.

Winding up a kick, I hit him square in the nut sack. When he went down on his knees, I kneed him in the face and punched him in the chest causing him to go down.

"FANGIE POO!" Lissa screamed out, but I spun back to her and yelled, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT BITCH!" as I decked her too.

"There we go, Max! Hit her where it hurts!" From the corner of my eye, I could see Iggy shadow boxing as if he were watching a boxing match. From the floor I could hear Fang wheeze out, "You're not helping, Iggy."

Dylan _tried_, emphasis on tried, to break up this one sided match, but before he could get any closer, I kicked him square in the chest sending him flying. Turning back to Lissa's whimpering form on the ground, I heard a sudden _hisssssss_. Ears perking, I looked up at the row of hotplates on the side table and spotted the thermite Fang had put on one. "Hey, Fang…"

"Yeah," his muffled voice.

"Did you turn off the hotplates?" My eyes widened as the thermite began to spark.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it…" Fang's voice faded away as he sat up and saw the thermite. "Oh, hell-" he didn't even bother finishing his sentence as he lurched to his feet. Iggy and Dylan each took cover and tried to beckon for Lissa to join them, but with her being as stubborn as a bull, that wasn't happening anytime soon.

"F-Fangie Poo…" Lissa's voice trembled and when she saw Fang stand up, she stretched her arms as if in a warm embrace. "Save me…" But Fang didn't even bother looking at her. Instead he shoved her to the side, grabbed—no tackled—me and together we dove under a desk just as the thermite exploded.

BANG!

Sparks flew everywhere and Fang cradled my head so that I wouldn't catch on fire and so that my skin wouldn't be burnt.

When the thermite eventually died down, we all slowly looked up from our respective hiding places and looked around at the classroom we had just wrecked. All of us were fine and relatively unharmed, except for Lissa's pride, but that wound wouldn't heal for a long time.

Seconds later, we heard footsteps pounding down the hallways and the heads of Ari, Angel, and our principal Mr. Bradley popped into the room.

"W-What happened here?!" Mr. Bradley's chubby face was a shade redder than usual. Behind him, Ari and Angel surveyed the damage, looked at each other and said, "Whoa."

"What happened here!" Mr. Bradley marched over to me and Fang and stopped when he saw me naked. "Ms. Ride, why on earth are you in the nude?"

"Well, you see there was this incident with sulfuric acid hydrogen peroxide mixture-" I began but was rudely interrupted by Lissa.

"Which was not my fault in the slightest. If anything it was yours, Max." Lissa stuck her snooty little nose in the air and huffed as I stared bewildered at her.

"What the hell are you talking about Lissa! You're the one who sprayed acid on her in the first place!" Fang looked seriously pissed.

"At least I didn't leave thermite on a hot plate like an idiot, idiot!" She retorted.

"I'm sorry if I was so concerned about my friend's safety and life that I made the mistake of leaving the hotplate on. At least I was trying to do something helpful unlike Dylan!" Dylan's face morphed to rage as he stormed over to Fang.

"Why you got to bring me into this, huh? What did I ever do to you!" Dylan shouted and Fang stood up to match Dylan's height. For a moment, I thought they were both going to duke it out if Mr. Bradley had not intervened.

"ALL OF YOU ARE SUSPENDED!" Mr. Bradley was shaking with so much rage that I began to seriously worry that the old man was going to croak right then and there. "GET OUT OF MY SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY!"

"Um, Mr. Bradley, sir, I would _love_ to leave school, but I'm kind of, you know, naked…" I beamed at his irritated face.

"Wait here." Leaving the classroom, he came back with an oversized lab coat and incredibly crappy sweatpants. "Here. Put these clothes on and _then_ leave my school." As grandiose as any overweight principal could be, he left the classroom.

Turning to Fang, I said, "What was that you said about _us_ igniting the thermite?"

**I'M DONE WITH THIS LONG CHAPPY! I AM SO PROUD! YAYAYYYYYYYYYYY1! OKAY, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE IT, BUT AS I'M TYPING THIS, THIS CHAPTER IS FUCKING 12 PAGES LONG! BUT IT'S THE LEAST I CAN DO FOR NOT WRITING IN A WHILE! Once again, I want to tell you guys that I love and thank you for reading my story. If you love it as much as I love writing it, please comment, favorite, and follow this story. I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AWESOME DAY AND IF YOU DON'T JUST KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Dr. Bessy**


	15. Chapter 15

**HEY ALL OF YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OUT THERE! Okay, so here's another chappy for you all, but before I start, I just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews I've gotten, especially Iluviggyhesthebest and Guest (180). Also to answer Guest (180)'s question, Ari is 7. When I was first writing this story, I meant for him to be 10, but then it didn't feel right so I changed his age to 7. In all reality, though, I really just forgot that I put him as ten years old. So to clear things up, he and Angel are 7, Gazzy is 12, Nudge and Ella are 15, and Iggy, Fang, Max, Dylan, and Lissa are all 17 turning 18 at their respective birthdates. So yea, I hope you guys enjoy this chappy I made just for you!**

**Disclaimer: Is this still necessary? I mean I think I've already established that I don't own anything: no life, no car, no money, no friends, no nothing. Why do I have to keep reducing my value and worth for you, stupid disclaimer? Huh? This is the kind of thing that makes people pissed off at everything in the world. Hell, I'm pissed off at you, you stupid disclaimer! You wanna sue me, sue me, bitch, cuz I AIN'T GOT NO MONEY FOR YOU! AND RIGHT NOW I'M IRRITATED ABOUT THE FACT THAT I'M BROKE AND IF ANYONE FEELS THE NEED TO HELP A BROKE ASS SISTER OUT, THEN IT WOULD BE MUCH OBLIGED.**

**6 MONTHS AND 3 DAYS BEFORE DEATH (CONTINUED)**

"Well, I think that went over well," Iggy said as the five of us walked out into the school parking lot.

I stared at him like for the first time I could see how much of an idiot he was. "How? How in the hell did you think that went over well? Need I remind you that we got _suspended_?"

"Well, yeah, we got suspended. But at least we didn't get expelled. Plus we don't have to go to school today." Iggy hopped into a puddle splashing Lissa, reminding me that Iggy had the mind of a seven-year-old. "If you ask me, I think this is a win-win situation."

"Yeah, well nobody was asking you," Lissa snapped as she tried—and failed—to wipe some mud off of her heels. "So shut up."

"What exactly are we going to do?" I asked as I looked forlornly at our high school. "I can't go home or else my dad will wonder why I'm not in school." _Also because he's an asshole_, I thought but didn't say aloud.

"You can hang at my place then," Fang offered. I smiled gratefully at him.

"Well, in that case, I'll be over too. After all, I could never leave my Fangie Poo in the hands of a mongrel," Lissa took the liberty of attaching herself to Fang's arm like a leech. "No offense, Max."

"Lissa, your entire existence is an offense, even to your parents," I retorted.

"_Especially_ your parents," Iggy chimed in.

"I'll go where Max goes," Dylan appeared to my right. "That won't be a problem, right Fang?"

"No. No problem at all," Fang gritted through his teeth.

"I guess I'll come along as well. I mean, you four definitely beat _Real Housewives of Hollywood_ any day," Iggy quipped, earning me and Fang's death glares.

"So _this_ is what you've had up your sleeves, Fangie Poo! I never knew you were loaded!" Lissa swept around in a giant circle as she took in her surroundings.

"He probably didn't tell you because he knew you would cling even tighter to him, just like the gold digger you are," I said under my breath.

Whipping around, Lissa said, "And what's so wrong about being a gold digger." Fang arched his eyebrows and took a step away from her.

"Well that's gonna put a dent in your relationship," Dylan said, causing me to giggle.

"Can we please get a move on? I haven't even shown you guys the rest of the house." Fang led the way as he gave us a detailed account of his castle—I mean house.

"Hey, won't your mom care that you're letting people she barely knows into your house?" Iggy asked.

"Ig, she's probably at work, so what she doesn't know won't kill her, right?" I winked at Fang who gave me a lopsided grin that made my heart jump.

"Stalker," Lissa coughed into her hand.

"Um, sweetie, it's called common sense. After all, not all our moms can reap the benefits of choosing their own hours because they work at a strip club," I retorted.

"My mom doesn't work at a strip club! She's a sexual escort, dumbass. And at least I still have a mom!" This girl was seriously asking to get her ass handed to her. _Again._

"Alright, you two. Simmer down," Dylan stepped in between us.

"What do I look like to you, a pot?!" I don't know why but the sight of his face being so calm was seriously pissing me off.

"No. You look as beautiful as ever, but right now you need to calm down, okay love?" Dylan stood in front of me and gently held my face in his hands. Fang's face contorted into disgust.

"Damn rich people and their stupid lingo," he muttered under his breath.

"Look who's talking, Mr. My-House-Is-A-Mansion," Dylan smirked.

"Hey, Fang," Iggy tried to get Fang's attention, but at that moment he and Dylan were too busy bickering.

"Oh, I'm sorry if the fact that my parents are successful economically bothers you. Would you rather me grovel and kiss the very dirt at your feet?" Fang mocked.

"That would be nice." Although Dylan's face was neutral, I could tell that he was starting to get irritated.

"Hey, Fang!" Iggy raised his voice once again, but by this point no one was paying any attention to him.

"Oh, don't be a pompous ass," Lissa rolled her eyes at Dylan.

"Last time I checked you liked my ass very much, so who are you to complain?" Dylan's eyes sparked and I wheeled on him.

"_Excuse you_! What is _that_ supposed to mean?!" My eyes swiveled from Dylan to Lissa and back again. "Did you two…" When neither replied, I threw my hands up in the air. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Lissa!" Fang's eyes grew darker as he glared at Lissa and Dylan in turn.

"What?" That bitch had the nerve to try and look innocent.

"When did you two sleep together?" Fang's voice was very measured and the way his eyes were storming was showing how he was about to blow.

"Hmm, let me think…we had sex about two months ago," Lissa answered.

"Two months!" I yelled.

"For how long?" Fang took a step forward.

"So many times and in _so_ many positions," Lissa chuckled.

"Lissa!" Dylan hissed.

"What? They asked," she shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"So Iggy was right…you didn't care about me at all? You're just dating me for…for money?" Fang's eyes glazed with pain and I had to resist the urge to go over and hold him, whisper into his ear that everything would be okay.

"No, Fangie Poo. I wasn't dating you for money, although I did hope you'd be kind enough to lend me some," Lissa winked. "I mostly dated you for your dick."

"Whoa, whoa whoa. Hold the phone. _You_ had sex with her too?" I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head they were so wide.

"Unfortunately yes…" Fang grumbled and glared at Lissa to which she just blew a kiss to him.

"Just wondering: am I the _only_ virgin here?!" I looked incredulously around at everyone.

"Pretty much," Lissa said.

"Unbelievable!" Feeling majorly pissed, I stormed down a hallway and stomped up the stairs. Thinking on it now, I have no idea why the thought of me being the only virgin was so upsetting. If I had to name a reason, I would probably say that the idea of Fang, even Iggy, getting lucky before I did was unnerving, nevertheless gross. Not to mention the fact that my boyfriend was cheating on me.

"Hey, Max. Can we talk this out?" Dylan tried to follow me out, but I whirled on him.

"Don't. Say. A. Word. You got it? I don't want to hear you, I don't want to see you, and I sure as hell am not going to think of you," I hissed at him. "As far as we're concerned, you are _nothing_ to me anymore."

"Max, come on." Holding his hands up in surrender, he tried to advance towards me. "Just calm down-"

"Do NOT tell me to calm down, you little piece of shit!" When he tried to make a grab for my arm, I screamed, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Max-" He made another grab at me, but I ducked under his arm and tried to run across the upstairs hallway. Whether on purpose or by accident he grabbed onto my ankle causing me to nearly tumble down the stairs. I was able to avoid falling down the stairs, but I still banged my head pretty hard on the banister. The impact made me see stars and when I tried to open my eyes again, I was nearly blinded by the blood trailing down the side of my face.

With my head pounding and my dizziness increasing by the minute, I was unable to stop Dylan from pining me down and shaking me by my shoulders. "Max, you just need to listen to me and I'll explain-" Before he could finish, I felt the pressure of his body suddenly lift off of mine and I was free.

Lifting my head up, I saw Fang punching the living shit out of Dylan. "She. Said. Let. Her. GO." Every word he punctuated with a blow. Dylan went down and Fang would have kept on punching if Iggy hadn't carried him off. Still, he fought Iggy and tried to worm his way out of his grasp.

"Fang STOP. It's okay. I'm fine," I called out from my place at the top of the stairs. Hearing my voice weakened him and he stopped struggling.

"Get out," he whispered. Dylan didn't have to be told twice; scrambling to his feet like a dog, he rushed out of the door and didn't look back.

"Well that was very dramatic," Lissa crossed her arms and looked amiably at Fang.

"GET OUT MY HOUSE, DAMMIT!" Fang yelled and nearly chased her out the door.

"Look who's finally taken out the trash," Iggy nodded appreciatively.

Ignoring him, Fang jogged up the stairs to my side. "Are you okay?" Holding my face gently in his hands, he angled my head down and examined the cut on the side of my face. He pressed his finger near the area causing me to wince and hiss. "Sorry, sorry."

"Fang, I'm _fine_. Okay? I'm still breathing, I'm still walking and talking, I'm fine." I looked deep into his eyes, deep into his soul and saw nothing but kindness and unadulterated affection and concern.

"Like hell your fine. That asshole just beat you up," his nostrils flared with indignant anger.

"He did not beat me up-"

"YES HE DID. I SAW HIM DO IT." He wrung his hands through his hair and his expression went from angry to pained. "Dammit, Max. You don't need to defend him. He should never have laid a hand on you. Nobody ever should." A mental image of Jeb popped into my head and I strengthened my resolve to never breathe a word to Fang about what he's done to me. If I ever did, I knew Fang wouldn't stop until Jeb was dead, leaving me bouncing from foster house to foster house, Ari getting adopted by who knows what kind of family (my guess, probably child molesters), Jeb dead, and Fang in jail for murder.

"Got it, hear you loud and clear. Can I get up now?" With satisfaction I saw the flicker of a smile cross Fang's face. He stood to his feet and held out a hand which I gladly took.

"Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" Fang said. "And while we're at it, I'll lend you some better clothes, because that lab coat is not doing you any favors." Hitting his arm, I rolled my eyes and tried to hide my smile.

"Great. With those two whores out of the house, the dramas over. Now can we _please_ get something to eat? I've been trying to tell you all day. I'M STARVING." Iggy danced impatiently around the foyer like the little child he is.

"Makes you wonder if you really care about me at all," I snorted.

"Love you, too, Maxie-Pad," Iggy winked. He danced out of the way before I could properly beat him.

"I think we have some pizza in the fridge," Fang said.

"Great! Lead the way, "Fangie Poo"," Iggy cackled as Fang tried to hit him as well. Grumbling obscenities and the occasional death threat, Fang did, in fact, lead the way to the kitchen, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't let go of my hand once the entire way.

**PHEW. I JUST COMPLETED TWO CHAPTERS IN TWO DAYS! YAYYYYY! AND WHAT'S MORE THEY WERE BOTHED FILLED WITH DRAMA! DOUBLE YAYYYY! Okay, so I hope you liked this chapter where we found that (a) Max is a virgin while everyone else her age is a whore (b) Dylan and Lissa had been screwing this entire time and Dylan had some **_**major**_** anger issues and (c) Max and Fang are now both single, meaning maybe the FAX levels in this fanfiction might just hit the roof! Or, they could plummet all the way down to hell, because after all the two of them **_**did**_** just break off a relationship and need time to heal. I don't know which one I might write, depends on my mood, and I do love torturing—I mean keeping you readers in suspense…yeah, that's what I meant. Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment what you think because I love hearing from you guys. Reading your reviews makes my day a bajillion times better! I LOVE YOU ALL! And if any of you are feeling especially nice and generous, favorite and follow this story! I hope you all have an awesome day and many more awesome days to come!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	16. Chapter 16

**Yo, yo, YO MY PEEPS! WHAT IS UP IN THE HIZZLE OF THE SHIZZLE OF THE NIZZLE, YOU BIZZLES! Yea, that's right I can rhyme all the time, I have the skills to pay the bills, I can be the hakuna to your matatas, if you know what I'm saying.**

**Okay, so I have no idea where in the hell I was going with that so just save me some shame and ignore it. So yea, I'm back with another chappy for all y'all lovely peoples and here it is. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I am done with putting up with you. I am going on strike.**

**5 MONTHS AND 18 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

Now, if you know anything about me whatsoever, you know that I don't _do_ studying. Regardless of this fact, I still have a near perfect GPA and am the top student in most of my classes. What? You're shocked and/or surprised to hear that I actually have intelligence? Thank you _so_ much for the confidence booster, but given how idiotic my previous choices have been, I can't say I blame you.

Anyway, like I said, I'm the top in my classes, even Pre-Calc. _Especially_ Pre-Calc. While all those other idiots in my class wormed their way through assignments and had several mental breakdowns on how they'd pass the class, I was cruising by their suffering and basically just enjoying my superiority to their groveling pains.

So imagine my surprise—and utmost horror—when I found that I was all of a sudden _failing_ Pre-Calc. You see, a couple of days ago we had to take a huge test that would make or break our grade and it turns out that my test score not only broke my grade, it _incinerated it_. I was devastated. I was desperate. So I did the only thing I could think to do.

"Iggy?" I spoke quietly into the phone as if I didn't want anyone to hear, even though there was nobody around in the sanctuary of my room.

"_Yes?"_ Iggy mocked my small voice.

Clearing my throat, I said, "I need your help."

"_With…?"_ He prompted.

"Um…with math…?" Cringing, I admitted my problem.

For about a minute there was silence on the other end of the line and for a while I thought that he had hung up on me. But then I heard him laughing his ass of, reassuring me that that son of a bitch was still there.

"_Me…help…you…"_ he wheezed between guffaws_. "Since when did you, the great and powerful Maximum Ride, ever need my help?"_

"Since our last unit test," I began to get annoyed by how nonchalant he was acting even though I was freaking out on the inside. "I need you to help me study for my retakes."

At this, his laughing became even more boisterous_. "R-Retakes? You, going to retakes? HA! That's hilarious!"_

"Are you going to help me or not?" I growled.

"_Hmmm. Let me think. Now why would I help you? No, I'd much rather watch you squirm your way through this class. After all, your suffering brightens my day."_ And with that he hung up on me.

Now I know what you're all probably thinking: _"What kind of a douche ass best friend would hang up on you like that? I mean, is he PMSing or what?"_ And I agree with you. It was pretty douchy for Iggy to ditch me like that and he might just be experiencing a bit of PMS. Hell, he might even be going through menopause. But he does have a reason for being a dick and I do deserve what he had to say. Now I know what you're thinking _now_: _"What did you _do_?"_ Oh, so many things…

You see, dear reader, a couple of months ago, Iggy, like all the other imbeciles in our class was tanking. In a moment of desperation and need, he came to me for help. The conversation went as following:

"I told you, Iggy, I won't do it!" I yelled into my phone, causing the majority of the sensible people around me to look up in shock, surprise, and slight annoyance.

"_Jeez, Max! Will you at least consider the sake of my eardrums before you shoot me down?"_ Iggy's scratchy voice replied over the receiver.

"Iggy, listen to me carefully. If you want an A in Pre-Calc, you need to _earn_ it, meaning no cheating via _me_," I said in my most measured voice.

"_Fine, I won't have you cheat for me, but could you at least help me study?"_ Iggy pleaded to which I rolled my eyes.

"You don't need my help; you're doing fine on your own," I said as I nearly dove out of the way of an apparently blind bicyclist who obviously didn't understand the meaning of "stay to one side".

"_LIKE HELL I'M DOING FINE ON MY OWN. MY GRADES ARE SO BAD THAT I HAVE A "Z" IN THIS DAMN CLASS. A. FUCKING. Z,"_ Iggy nearly blew out my eardrums with his pathetic pleas_. "Please Maxie-Pad. You're the only shot I got to passing this class and graduating high school."_

"Now why would I help you when you don't even have the decency to call me by my real name?" Smirking, I taunted Iggy. "No, I'd much rather watch you squirm your way through this class. After all, your suffering brightens my day." And with that I hung up.

Yes, it was a douchy thing to do. And yes, I was on my period (in fact I had these _terrible_ cramps in the morning; they were just, ugh, I don't even want to talk about it and I'm sure you don't want to hear about it either). But that doesn't excuse how much of a douche I was to Iggy, and now I was paying for it.

Scowling at the irony of how he had strung up my hopes with the same words as I had his way back when, I punched in new numbers into my phone and waited for someone to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Fang, it's Max. I need your help-" I tried to say, but the phone cut me off.

"_It's me. Well, really it's just Fang's answering machine."_ Rolling my eyes, I forced myself to listen to the dumb answering message Fang had Nudge put on his phone. _"As you can tell, Fang nor I are here right now, so if you're someone he likes, leave a message. If you're not someone Fang likes, you can go fu-" BEEP_. And that was the end of Nudge's message.

"Yo, Fang. It's Max. I need your help with studying for Pre-Calc and I would really love it if you called me back ASAP. So yea…bye," Hanging up, I let my phone hand drop to my lap. Running a list of names through my head of who I could call and plead for help and seeing that I had no other friends, I sighed and flopped back onto my bed.

After feeling sorry for myself for a bit, I got up and walked downstairs to get started on my torture—I mean studying.

Two hours of staring at a paper and nearly banging my head on several walls several times, I still had no idea what any of the gibberish on my paper meant.

Even though I had the house to myself—Ari was on a weekend field trip and Jeb was at work and wasn't supposed to come home until later—I couldn't focus. My mind would drift from one thing to another, trying to avoid the absolute torture of doing work. Letting a loud _whoosh_ of air escape my lips, I laid my head down onto the table and decided to give up, just as the front door opened.

_Jeb isn't supposed to be back until 6_, I thought to myself as I looked up at the clock. 'Cause fate is a bitch, it read 6:00. _Had I been sitting here for that long? Crap_. My dismay grew when I realized that I wouldn't be able to sneak away from Jeb since the stairs to my room was right next to the very hallway he was undoubtedly walking through. Swearing under my breath, I tried to play it cool and decided to make a plan to escape on the fly.

As Jeb's footsteps got closer and closer, I began to feel a cold sweat dripping down my neck. My pulse was racing, my hands were clammy, and I was sure I was going to puke. When his face came into view around the corner, he glanced up and we made eye contact. At first he startled but he gained his composure soon enough. Clearing his throat, he said, "Hey, Maximum. How's it hanging?"

"Fine." I said.

"Good, good." Nodding his head as if he'd done something right, he dared to venture a step closer to me. "So…whatcha doing?"

"Homework."

"What kind of homework?" Jeb took another step closer and I tried to act as if it didn't bother me.

"Pre-Calc."

"Hmmm, the tricky stuff, eh?" Now standing behind me, Jeb looked over my shoulder to see my work. "Um, Maximum, sweetie, you did a couple problems wrong."

"Which ones?" Peeking over my shoulder I looked up at him.

"Uh…all of them?" He said this as if he didn't want to hurt me. _Too late for that buster_.

"I figured as much," I sighed.

"Here, let me help you. So what you do-" Trying to instruct me, he took my pencil from my hands and indicated something on my paper, in the process accidentally brushing his hand against mine. I involuntarily flinched away.

"I'm fine," I said hurriedly. "I can do it by myself."

"But I want to help-"

"I'm fine," I cut him off as my voice turned steely. Once again he gave me those sad puppy dog eyes and I expected him to back off like he did before, but to my surprise and slight annoyance he didn't. Instead, he took a seat next to me and laid his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.

"Look, Maximum. I know what I've done to you and your brother was horrible. I know what I've done to destroy this family was horrible. You have every right to hate me—hell, _I_ hate me. But can't you see that I'm trying to make up for it? And I know that there is absolutely nothing I can do to take away the pain I've caused you, but there are things I can do to make it better." Looking deep into my eyes, he held my gaze as he gently took my hands in his. This time I didn't flinch or pull away, against my better judgement. "I don't deserve forgiveness. But I can earn it. So please, Max, let me earn it." Tears leaked down his face and I wasn't surprised to find that my cheeks were just as stained as his. As I looked into his eyes, I saw that we both had the same sad, chocolate eyes. Eyes are a mirror to the soul. Peering into his eyes, I could see his soul was a bottomless pit of sadness, regret, and fear. Sadness for the family he destroyed. Regret for all the pain he's caused. Fear of the monster he may become. All of his fears mirrored my own. My sadness of the fact that Ari will never grow up in a happy, stable home. My regret for causing my mom to die in the accident. My fear of giving up and giving in, of letting Ari go and ending it all. I saw myself in Jeb and that terrified me more than anything else in the world.

Clearing my throat, I extracted my hands from his sweaty palms and took back my pencil. "Just because you're my father doesn't mean that earning me back is going to be easy. Beware: I'm going to work you to the bone and suck the marrow out of you, you hear? And the first thing you start with is by helping me understand this damn gibberish they try to pass as math."

I didn't even have to look up to see the massive smile on Jeb's face. "Alright. So, like I said, you got everything wrong. Your main problem is…"

For the rest of the day until just before Ari got back home, Jeb helped me study for my retakes. I actually enjoyed his company and he helped me to understand all that I couldn't. A couple of days later, I took my retakes and passed with flying colors, thanks to Jeb.

"Yo, Max! How'd you do?" Iggy asked as he and Fang jogged up to me.

"Like you care," I snorted and turned my back on him.

"Of course I care. After all, I have an image to uphold and I can't be friends with someone who's failing classes. You need to step up your game if you want be get some of this, Max." Like the dork he is, Iggy motioned up and down his body and causing me to roll my eyes.

"If you must know, I aced it." I said.

"That's great!" Fang wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze, causing me to blush furiously.

"That's good news for you. Now you can be reassured that you'll still get a piece of Iggy Pie." Regardless of how douchy he sounded, Iggy gave me a high five and a 500 kilowatt smile.

"What the hell is "Iggy Pie" and why would _anyone_ want a slice of it," I smirked.

"_Puh-lease_, Max. You wouldn't know what people would want. After all, you're "unexperienced" in the arts of sexual pleasure. Not to ruin you precious innocence, I'll give you the bare minimum of the details and tell you that people _definitely_ want a piece of Iggy Pie." Wriggling his eyebrows, Iggy walked ahead of me and Fang, causing us to follow him out to the school parking lot.

"Since you're "so experienced" in the arts of sexual pleasure that just means that you're a man whore." Fang snorted.

"Says the guy who slept with Loose Lips Lissa," Iggy giggled as Fang tried to clock him upside the head.

"So did you!" Fang yelled after him.

"Whoa, whoa whoa…WHAT? Iggy slept with _Lissa, too_?!" I practically screamed.

"Hey, who hasn't? Guys do it, girls do it, and I bet even dogs do it, too. I mean face it, Max. The girl is fucking _hot_. And so what if me and Fang banged the same girl. At least I was smart enough to realize that it was meaningless sex, unlike tall, dark, and stupid over here," Iggy shrugged his shoulders. "But if you want all the other naughty details of what went down that's a story for another day."

Shaking my head, I said, "You guys are such man whores. I wouldn't be surprised if both of you have chlamydia."

"We don't have chlamydia," Fang rolled his eyes. "At least _I_ don't. I'm not sure about Iggy, though. And can we please not talk about such disturbing things such as Lissa. I'm starving. Let's go get some pizza."

Iggy nodded his agreement and I was about to as well when I thought of an idea.

"Hey guys, I'm going to have to take a raincheck on the pizza. I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." Starting to back up, I said my farewells.

"Where are you going?" Fang shouted at my retreating form.

"I'm going to have movie night with my dad and Ari," I yelled back.

Turning to Fang, Iggy asked, "Since when did Max have movie night with her family?"

Since the day I began to regain hope of getting my dad back.

**So…yea. Iggy and Fang are both man whores and Max is starting to put her faith back in Jeb. Which do you guys think is a bigger mistake: sleeping with Lissa or trusting Jeb? Let me know in the reviews! And if you just want to say your opinion on this story or criticize me (helpful criticism only!) that's fine too! I love, love, LOVE hearing from you guys and I would love to hear more from you lovely people. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR READING MY STORY SO FAR AND I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THE REST OF IT! HAVE AN AWESOME DAY, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, HOW YOU FEEL, ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE (ABOUT MY STORY, ABOUT ME, ABOUT ANYTHING REALLY), AND REMEMBER TO…**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	17. Chapter 17

**HEY ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! I'M BACK! Okay, so I haven't updated for a little while, but I have an excuse: it's been one hell of a week. One, I had, like, a **_**million **_**assignments and projects to complete before spring break and it was ridiculous all of them. Two, I had to read, read, READ my ass off. Three, I had to train and practice for a piano competition I am doing. Four, I had to go through conditioning (a.k.a. Hell Week) for track (which sucked EPICALLY). Five, I was sexually assaulted. TWICE. How you may ask? I'm glad you're worried about my well-being, so I'll tell you. (And if you didn't ask how, I'm gonna tell you anyway!) Okay, so I didn't **_**really**_** get sexually assaulted, it was just a bunch of hilarious events that happened to be quite sexual. I have a friend, let's call him Bradley. Okay, so Bradley is a very short and pale dude and I've known since five-ever. So in Social Studies, we were in class doing our projects and all of a sudden, I hear the boys in my class laughing. I ignored them—per usual—and continued my work. Then they starting chanting me name and told me to look up. I did. Rookie mistake. Staring in front of my face was Bradley's pale, white ass. He. Fucking. **_**Mooned**_**. Me. IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS! And also today, we were playing Spoons in class (for all of you who don't know how to play Spoons, it is a hilariously aggressive card game) and my friend, let's call him Jack, passed one of the spoons to me. You see, he and I made an illegal alliance, so when he passed it to me, he had to be discreet. Instead of being "under the radar" like he was supposed to, he took the spoon in his hand and shoved in down the front of my shirt, in my bra, and yelled, "Now nobody can have it!" You would think my other friends would back down, right? WRONG. One of my guy friends, let's call him Drake, leaned forward, shoved his hand in between my cleavage, and grabbed the spoon while "accidentally" grabbing my boob. As you might imagine, I punched—not smacked, punched—the smug look off his face. It was the most stressful week of my life.**

**Okay, so I'm sorry for the unplanned rant, I just thought that what happened was hilarious and that you guys would enjoy it. Anyway, here's my story. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Shit. Except my boobs. And that spoon Drake stole from in between my boobs.**

**4 MONTHS AND 26 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

Shit. I'm late. Again.

Hurtling down the stairs, I practically grabbed Ari by the scruff of his neck and hurled him out the front door.

Two minutes before the late bell was supposed to ring and we were ten minutes away from school. Just great. Even though Ari and I knew it was pointless, we still ran like hell trying to make it. Jumping over trash cans and jetting through alleyways, we raced against time. When we came to the junction between my school and Ari's, I chose to take the path that led to Ari's school in case he was able to make it to classes.

Surely enough, we were able to make it just as the late bell rang. Good for him. Bad for me. Not even taking the time to make sure Ari was inside, I ran back to the junction and flew to my school, hoping against hope that I'd make it, which of course I didn't because fate is a little bitch, now isn't she?

Five minutes later, I was banging my head against the wall, wondering if I caused myself a concussion that might excuse my absence. Sighing, I slid away from the slightly dented wall and slumped towards the parking lot. Looking up, my breath was stolen from my chest.

Leaning against a lamppost stood my knight in shining armor—well, his armor really just consisted of ripped jeans, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket (all black of course), but he still looked _mighty fine_ in it. His long, ragged black hair was blowing in the gentle breeze, causing it to shield his bottomless eyes. When he heard me walking towards him, he looked up at me and gave me one of rare smiles that made my heart melt and my stomach do aerials.

"Hey." I said as I sidled up next to him.

"Hey." Fang replied.

"What are you…?" I cocked my head to the side and raised my eyebrows.

"Same as you. I was late so according to this school's bitchy policies, I can't go in." Fang tried to look apologetic about this fact and failed miserably.

"You ever wonder why everyone at this school is so bitchy?" I asked.

"I _know_. The teachers, the students, the policies. It's like everything is run by a bitch code." Fang joked, causing me to snort. "So what do we do now?"

Mulling it over, I proposed, "How about another ditch day? Like, the one we had that other time."

"Okay, okay. But we can't go to the pier. Tide is coming in, so the waters are probably swamping that place. How 'bout a movie instead?"

"Wouldn't people wonder why we aren't in school?"

"Max, we look eighteen, maybe even nineteen. It'll be fine." Fang brushed the matter away.

"And if worse comes to worse you could always get us out of trouble by sleeping with them, just like the manwhore you are," I remarked brightly and laughed as Fang attempted to rip me a new one.

"And if worse comes to even worse, you could always entertain the authorities with the tales of a virgin high school senior." This time it was Fang who laughed when I tried to knee him in his balls. "So shall we go?" Holding out his hand, Fang flashed me a lopsided smile. What a gentlemen.

"I suppose." Taking his hand, I let him lead the way, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't let it go.

And thus our second Ditch Day began. As planned, we went to the movies and saw some weird action/sci-fi movie where aliens came down to earth and kidnapped people's babies. There were a lot of cheesy plot twists that made us gag. For example, in almost every scene _someone_ was shirtless. During a particular scene when a chick wasn't even wearing a bra nor a bikini top, Fang leaned over and I could feel his warm breath against my ear as he whispered, "What is this, _Fifty Shades of Grey_?" I nearly snorted popcorn out of my nose but managed to control myself before nodding. Throughout the rest of the movie we whispered commentary on the actors' bad acting and the super fake explosive scenes. I know you may think we sound snotty, but you have to understand that we have basis for our judgement. After all, Nudge is _the most_ dramatic teenager on the face of North America, so through the memories of dealing with her mental breakdowns and dramatic fazes, I think I am as skilled as any actor when it comes down to it (well, at least I'm as skilled in pretending I care as the next one). And don't even get me started on explosives. I have survived years upon years upon _years_ of dealing with Iggy's ever growing fascination with pyrotechnics. I have seen a couple of explosions in my day, and I can assure you that the ones in this movie are to the real deal as 1960s cartoons are to 2000s animations. So, so, SO outdated.

Hell, even when the main character "tragically" died trying to save the love of his life (a girl with ENORMOUS jugs he met three scenes ago), you could faintly hear laughter in the background. Yeah, that was me. But it's not like I was disturbing anyone. There was no one else in the theatre because (a) they didn't come in the first place since this movie sucks ass or (b) those who did come had the common sense to sneak out of the theatre and sneak into another movie right after the previews played. The movie finally ended with another terrible explosion, to which Fang and I stood to our feet and applauded, shouting at the top of our lungs "YES, IT'S OVER!" Exiting the movie theatre, we walked across the street to a pizza place with deep dish pizzas to _die for_.

Ordering an extra-large deep dish pizza, we sat in a booth and waited for our food to arrive. By the time it did come, I had grown gray hairs and was in need of a walker.

"_Finally_," Fang grumbled as the waitress dropped off our food. "Okay, so how 'bout we split this pizza 50-50 each?"

"Sure, two slices for you, four slices for me," I chirped and made a move to grab the whole pizza but Fang took it first.

"Uh, no. One slice for you, five slices for me," Fang smirked and I just rolled my eyes.

"Fangie-Poo," I started, batting my eyes. "I may be a girl, but I can eat like a sumo wrestler. Fork over the pizza." I made another move to take the pizza but Fang scooted it even farther away from me. Starting to get irritated, I slid out of my side of the booth and slid next to Fang. "Okay, okay, okay. Truce. How about we split it 50-50 for real, three-three each?" Like any true business negotiator, I offered my hand to him. Looking at me with no small amount of suspicion, Fang accepted my hand and we shook on it. We looked into each other's eyes and for a split second the world seemed to still, then we burst with fits of laughter to the point where we were holding our sides. We split the food evenly and ate to our hearts' content, which as you would imagine would include ordering three more pizzas.

When we had finally finished our meal, we got up, threw down some cash as a tip, and walked out. As we were leaving, one of the waiters yelled over to us, "Enjoy the rest of your date!" I stopped in my tracks and whipped my head around to look for whoever said this, but whoever the culprit was had already ducked his or her head back down. I looked over to Fang to see how he was reacting, but I guess he hadn't heard because he was continuing down the street without a care in the world. I hurried after him but as I fell in step with him, my thoughts were racing.

_Date? This couldn't possibly be a date?_ Almost immediately after I thought this, it occurred to me that going to the movies together and getting lunch together was pretty date like in itself. Shaking my head, I thought: _ There is absolutely NO WAY this is a date. I mean, Fang is my best friend. He would never see me as anything more._ Although I stood firmly on this belief, the thought of Fang not thinking of me as anything beyond a companion saddened me in ways that I didn't think were possible. I guess it showed because Fang kept on glancing at me with this annoyingly concerned look on his face. I have no idea why, but just looking at him looking at me pissed me off so much that I wanted to either smack the worry out of him or kiss his troubles away. _Max. You need to stop,_ my inner Voice's tone was sharper on every word. _Now. Fang is like a _brother_ to you._ True enough. Lately we had been hanging out so much I practically lived at his house. And there was that time that I _did_ live in his house…._Nothing good will come from this_, my bitchy inner voice preached. _If anything, you'll ruin your friendship with Fang! Or worse: HE'LL HATE YOU!_

You ever want to punch yourself in the face sometimes? Yeah, I understand your struggle. At that moment all I wanted to do was pull an ostrich: slam my head into the ground and never come up for air. What with all these worries, I felt like a…like a…like a TEENAGE GIRL. Crazy how that works, huh?

"Hey, Max…" The sound of Fang calling me went in one ear and out the other. I was too busy worrying that I just ducked my head down and kept walking. "Max…?" Again, just like adult instructions, in one ear and out the other. _I think I might be going insane,_ I stressed even more. "MAX!" With a jolt, I jerked my head up in time to feel something crash into my back sending me sprawling. The mystery object was heavy and laid like a weight over my torso. In the position I had landed, my face had given the concrete a big 'ole kiss, resulting in a cut below my right eye. A trickle of blood slid down my face like a crimson tear.

Squirming to see what had happened, I managed to turn around under the weight of the mystery object and saw that it was not a mystery object at all, but Fang. "What. The. Hell. Dude. What the fuck was that for?!"

"I just saved your LIFE, dumbass! You walked into the middle of the busy street like a moron and nearly got yourself run over by a semi!" My eyebrows shot up and I squirmed to look past Fang's body. Sure enough there was an angry semi-truck driver climbing out of his vehicle, marching towards us, all the while shouting profanities so vile nearby mothers had to cover their children's ears. Looking back at Fang, I saw that his annoyance had disappeared. His eyebrows were knitted, his dark eyes cloudy, his hair covering his eyes—per usual—from my perspective, he looked like a dark angel looking down from heaven towards me. _Max. Shut. Up. You. Sound. Like. A. DORK._ My inner voice scolded me, and it had arms, they would totally be crossed. _Hey, what's wrong with being a dork?_ I answered myself like a total schizophrenic. Bottom line, Fang was HOT. And just the like the flustered idiot I am, I responded with the stupidest words possible.

"Get off me." I nearly jumped with how cold my words sounded in my ears.

"What?" Fang's expression went from concerned to confusion to annoyance again.

"You heard me. Get. Off." Why was I being so sassy? I wonder this question daily, and then I realize that my sassiness is my defense against my feelings, it is the wall I put up and barricade myself from others, it is my mask disguising my true thoughts. And _then_ I fall into a deep depression because of how idiotic I sound and act.

Scowling, Fang got up. Once he got to his feet, he didn't so much as offer his hand to me. _Ouch_. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing." I say as I get to my own feet. Fang looks like he's about to say more but the angry, morbidly obese truck driver had already reached us.

"WHAT. THE HELL. WAS THAT?!" With each word or phrase, the chubby man heaved in wheezing breaths. I couldn't tell if his state was because he was so pissed off or because he needed an inhaler, or better yet a forklift. "WHAT. KIND OF IDIOT. JUMPS INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. LIKE THAT?! IF YOUR FRIEND HADN'T BEEN THERE TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS, YOU COULD HAVE DIED, OR WORSE, I COULD HAVE LOST MY JOB! DO YOU WANT ME TO LOSE MY JOB?!"

Eager to make amends, I mumbled, "No, sir-"

"THAT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION!" As he shouted, his quadruple chin jiggled and wiggled, making it _extremely_ hard for me to concentrate on his words. "IF I LOSE MY JOB WHAT THEN, HUH? I HAVE A WIFE AND TWO KIDS AT HOME, EXPECTING ME TO MAKE MONEY BECAUSE GOD FORBID _THEY_ EVER DO ANYTHING WITH THEIR LIVES! IF I LOSE MY JOB, WHAT OTHER SOURCE OF HAPPINESS WILL I GAIN IN LIFE?!" I was about to answer, but then I remember how this guy seemed to _love_ rhetorical questions, so I kept my mouth shut. Wrong choice. "ARE YOU DEAF OR JUST DUMB? I ASKED YOU A QUESTION."

"Oh, um…maybe from your wife and kids?" My answer was more like a question.

"WRONG. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU'RE YOUNG, SO LET ME SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU. MARRIAGE IS AN ILLUSION. IT IS THE UNHAPPY UNION OF ONE PEACE OF MEAT TO ANOTHER PEACE OF MEAT. THE ONLY THING THAT HOLDS THEM TOGETHER IS SEXUAL ATTRACTION. AND ONCE THAT'S GONE, SO IS THE MARRIAGE. IF I HAD KNOWN WHAT I WAS IN FOR WHEN I GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE, I WOULD HAVE STUCK WITH BANGING PROSTITUTES ON THE STREET CORNER, STD OR NO STD." I don't know when this guy decided to start giving me life coaching, but I decided to just roll with it.

"Well, what about your kids?" Fang asked. I shot off a glare at him for encouraging the guy, and he replied with one every bit as icy.

"OH, DON'T GET ME _STARTED_ ON KIDS. THEY'RE LOUD. THEY'RE ANNOYING. ALL THEY SAY IS, "ME, ME, ME" AND THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM GOBBLING UP MY MONEY TO SPEND ON THEIR USUAL TOYS AND EVEN MORE USELESS EDUCATION. I MEAN, SERIOUSLY. WHO NEEDS TO LEARN GEOMETRY? WHEN DOES ANYBODY _EVER_ USE IT IN REAL LIFE? I SURE AS HELL DON'T. AND EVEN THOUGH I DON'T SEE ANY SENSE IN CONTINUING WITH SUCH USELESS ENDEVOURS, MY BRICK OF A WIFE WHINES HOW THEY NEED SCHOOL TO MAKE SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES OR ELSE THEY'LL END UP "LIKE THEIR FATHER"." Once this guy started, it was clear that there was no stopping until he got his rant out of his system.

"How about you trying to reignite that, uh, spark with your wife?" I asked.

"HA! YOU'RE FUNNY." When he saw that I wasn't joking, he coughed awkwardly into his hand and continued. "LOOK KID, THAT AIN'T EVER GOING TO HAPPEN. MY WIFE, LIKE I SAID, IS A BRICK. IN ORDER TO HAVE PASSION, ONE MUST HAVE ECSTASY, AND IN ORDER TO HAVE ECSTASY, ONE MUST HAVE A HARD-ON. AFTER THE SECOND BABY, MY WIFE'S FIGURE HAS BECOME THE SHAPE OF A BANANA: STRAIGHT. NO CURVES. NO BULGING BOSSOMS. NOT A HINT OF A FLIRTING FIGURE. JUST ROLLS AND ROLLS OF FAT. I HAVE TRIED HER IN _EVERY POSITION IMAGINABLE_ BUT THERE SIMPLY IS NO PRICK IN MY DICK. IGNITING OUR "SPARK" IS NOTHING BUT A FANTASY." He leaned closer to Fang and glared at me as he said in a VERY loud whisper, "AND IF YOU WANT MY ADVICE, KID, YOU'LL DITCH THIS CHICK AND STAY SINGLE. THERE ARE PLENTY OF WHORES TO GO AROUND." Fang at least had the decency to look shocked by what this weird hillbilly of a trucker had to say, but before he could get a word edge-wise, the man had already spun around and was walking back to his truck. "MAKE SURE YOU DON'T RUN IN FRONT OF ANYMORE TRUCKERS, YOU HEAR GIRLY? TAKE CARE, YOU TOO." And with that, he got back into his semi and sped off.

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so I have no idea why I wrote what I just did. It kind of just appeared on my page. Regardless of this fact, I shall not erase this masterpiece.)**

As the truck driver left, we were left in both shock and confusion at what had just occurred. Taking this in stride, Fang turned back to me and said, "You know, I think we have had enough of the city. The thick smog messes with people's brains and makes them nutty. I'd rather not encounter another wackjob anytime soon."

Nodding my head, I said, "Agreed."

For a while, we walked aimlessly, turning street corners and around bends without a word or breath spoken between us. Almost as if fate had pulled us towards it, we arrived at the docks and silently sat at the water's edge. Although the tides were high, the waters threatening to suck us in, and the sky was a tumultuous gray with dark cumulonimbus clouds, the sight took my breath away. There was something about the dark, grim overcast that certain things in life seemed to have that drew me in. I guess that's one of the things that made me like Fang: his dark, conservative exterior's contrast to his warm, gentle, loving interior.

_Snap out of it, Max! _ My inner voice screamed at me. _It would never work, so there's no need to pointlessly delude yourself any longer!_ Although I knew I was right, it still didn't stop me from taking a peek at him. As discreetly as I could I took in his strong, lean arms his flat stomach that was undoubtedly riddled with muscles underneath his shirt. Even the way he smelled made me feel like I would be safe, and I soaked in his aura like a sponge. My eyes wandered up to face and I nearly fell off the wharf when I saw that he was looking right at me. _Uh oh,_ like a mother scolding her child my inner voice tsked at me. _You just got caught with your hand in the cookie jar._

"Is something bothering you?" His eyes looked glazed over and shiny at the same time as they focused their laser beam gaze on me. "If there's something troubling you, you know that you can come to me with it, right?" Tilting his head he gave me an encouraging half smile that made me want to tell him how I had this insane notion in my brain that was singing how I was in love with him. "I am, after all, your best friend." And there was that damn "f" word. _Friend_. That word was like a curse word to me and not the fun kind. Upon hearing that word, my guard was up and I instinctively scooched a couple of spaces away from Fang.

**FANG POV**

"Is something bothering you?" I asked as I searched her face for any clues. Her face with those chocolatey, dark brown eyes, that cute button nose, those luscious kissable, _bitable_ lips…_Snap out of it, Fang!_ I yelled at myself. _You need to stop before you tackle her with your mouth!_ Mentally shaking my head, I refocused my attention on Max. "If there's something troubling you, you know that you can come to me with it right?" I tilted my head in what I _hoped_ was cute and studied her reaction. Biting her lip unconsciously, Max looked at me almost pleadingly. I knew she wanted to tell me whatever it was, so I tried to give her a little nudge. "I am, after all, your best friend." After saying this last sentence, I wanted to throw my body into the waves and drown myself. _Did I seriously just "friend zone" the girl I'm in love with?_ I had the urge to punch myself in the face, but resisted for the sake of appearances.

Max obviously had a bad reaction to what I had said because she immediately scooched her cute little butt away from me. "It's nothing," she mumbled. I rolled my eyes and forged on.

"It can't possibly be nothing if it is an "it" in the first place. What's bother you?" I scooched a pace closer to which she bolted to her feet.

"Really, there's nothing wrong." Turning to leave, Max began to pace the back to land. Getting to my own feet, I shouted behind her, "Why do you do that?!"

"Do what?" She replied. I should have just stopped then and there, but I never do what I should, so why start now?

"Why do you run away?" I asked.

"I don't run away." To prove her point, she took a couple steps forward. _I guess that's progress,_ I thought to myself, so I forged on.

"Yes, you do. Whenever me or Iggy or anyone else start to worry about you, you either start to bitch out or run away." I take a step forward towards her, and then another one.

"I do NOT bitch out-" Max's face was red and I could tell she was starting to get pissed off—a warning sign that I should stop—but just like that truck driver, once the words started, they wouldn't stop until they were finished.

"YES YOU DO!" I yelled. "You bitch out and do something to purposefully make us mad so that we'll back off. You may think you're being slick, but you aren't because I know and Iggy knows and EVERYONE IN THE GODDAMN WORLD KNOWS THAT YOU'RE AFRAID."

For a minute or two, Max stared at me in stunned silence. When she finally did speak, her voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear. "Really now? So I guess you know my whole life story, huh? If you know SO MUCH about me, then tell me, Fang, what am I so afraid of?" I opened my mouth to answer, but thought better of it. The look in her eyes said that she wasn't messing around, plus I didn't know the answer. "ANSWER ME!" She screamed at my silence.

"I don't know." My voice had become softer than a mouse's pattering paws.

"What was that?" Max's eyes raged and her jaw was working overtime.

"I said I don't know!" I yelled.

"Exactly! YOU DON'T KNOW. That's because you don't know ME or anything about ME." In some distant part of my mind, I registered that there was thunder in the distance.

"THEN LET ME LEARN!" My voice boomed across the lake and back, echoing in both me and Max's ears. "Let me learn," I said in a quieter voice. "I want to learn more about you."

"Don't you know enough?" The volume of Max's voice dropped down to match mine.

"I could never get enough of you. I mean, yeah, I know what your favorite color is and what kind of toppings you like on your triple deckered ice cream, but that's not enough for me. I want to know what's going on in your head, what you're feeling, the very depths of your soul. I want to _know_ Maximum Ride."

"It's none of your business. Why do you care even anyway?" Max's voice cracked as she spoke.

Chuckling softly to myself, I said, "Would you believe me if I said because I'm your best friend?"

"That's not good enough!" For some reason that I had yet to learn, Max's eyes began to water and her fists clenched 'til they were white with the pressure. She looked so…so broken. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and protect her from the evils plaguing her. But if I tried that, I knew she would punch me in many undesirable places.

"Well then I guess it's because I'm in love with you." And with that the heavens seemed to open and rain fell to the earth. Almost like we had been transported into some cheesy romance movie.

Max's eyes grew to the size of saucers and she slowly shook her head. "Y-You don't mean that…" Shaking her head with more vigor, she shouted at me, "You're lying!"

"No I'm not, Max. I would never lie about this to you. I'm in love with you." Although I said these words calmly, on the inside I was freaking out. _Why the fuck would I tell her?! _ I screamed at myself. _I mean, she obviously isn't taking it well._

"There's no way in _hell_ that you could possibly be in love with me! All I am to you is a _best friend_." Max took several more steps forward so that she was standing in front of me. The rain made her clothes cling to her thin frame and her hair lolled down her face in stringy strands. Looking into her eyes, I couldn't tell if the lines on her cheeks were rain drops or tears.

"Don't you know that soul mates have to be best friends first?" I smiled gently at her and tried to maintain eye contact, but her gaze was dodging me.

"Look, I'm done with this. We both know you're lying because there's no way that you could _possibly_ love someone like me. So if you'll excuse me…" Max tried to shove past me, but I grabbed her arm, whirled her around, and kissed her.

At first the kiss was sloppy and hesitant on her part, but soon enough we were practically breathing each other. I could taste rainwater on her soft lips and I could smell the sea breeze in her hair. Letting go of her arm in favor of her waist, I wrapped my arms around Max and pulled her in as close as I could manage. When we finally separated, we were both gasping for air and slightly dazed. Leaning my forehead against hers, I whispered, "I love you because there is _no one_ like you. You are unique, you are beautiful, and please know that you are loved."

**MAX POV**

The kiss was amazing. It literally took my breath away. Kissing Fang, it felt like I was connected to his very soul and when we separated, I yearned for that feeling again. Fang leaned his forehead onto mine and I felt the cool rainwater wash over our heated faces. "I love you because there is _no one_ like you," I heard him whisper. "You are unique, you are beautiful, and please know that you are loved." Once I heard his words, my inner wall—the wall that kept me from feeling, the wall that segregated me from everyone else—cracked. I felt my knees cave underneath me and Fang went down with me so that we were on our knees. I wrapped my arms around Fang's neck and placed my head in the middle of his chest. And I cried. My heaving sobs wracked my body as I let loose. Now I know what you're thinking: _"What the heck, Max? Why you crying, girl, when you should partaying! You finally got yo man! Celebrate!"_ Now don't get me wrong; I intend to celebrate _plenty _but the tears I shed weren't tears of sadness. I was crying because I was letting everything go. All the fear and rage and sadness and shame I had felt in the past couple of months—no the past couple of _years_—I let it all go in a torrent of hectic, ugly, genuine tears. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore.

When I had finished, I drew myself up, and planted my lips on Fang's. The kiss I gave wasn't as fierce as our first, but it was just as passionate if not more. When I drew back, I looked up into Fang's eyes and said, "I love you, too," just as two more tears trickled down my face. Looks like I wasn't out of tears after all.

**SO GUYS…YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That all just happened. Told you guys that I would have more FAX and I believe I have delivered. So I hope you guys enjoy this chappy. Don't forget to R&amp;R because I love to hear from you guys SO FUCKING MUCH! I LOVE YOU BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE LIKE YOU. YOU ARE UNIQUE, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, AND PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED. And remember:**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	18. Chapter 18

**HELLO MY PEEPS! WHAT. IS. UP. I know I haven't written in a while and I know that makes me a total and complete jackass, but oh well! I am back so that is all that matters. HERE'S A NEW CHAPPY FOR YOU GUYS SO ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say I don't own anything! I mean if I did, do you think I would be spending my time writing a fanfiction?! NO. I WOULDN'T. I would be wasting my money on some island in the Bahamas with some very hot and very naked dudes. Jk. Jk. I'm a saint. But still, if I owned anything, I really wouldn't be writing a fanfic, but seeing that I don't own a thing…yea.**

**1 MONTH AND 18 DAYS**

The past few months blurred into a single memory: Fang. Fang's hands on my hips. Fang's scent on my clothes. Fang's heat on my skin. He practically breathed the life into my lungs and I was becoming addicted to the way he touched me, the way he held me, the way he kissed me. Ever since I had met him, I had wanted him. Now I finally had him and there was no way in hell that I was letting him go any time soon. For the first time in my life, I was truly happy. Everything was perfect. None of it would last long. If only I'd known that my world would collapse and that I'd be sucked into the inky blackness called Hell. But that's the thing about "the beginning of the end". You never know that it's happening until it's too late…

"Hey, Max!" I whipped around to see Fang running toward me across the school parking lot. I had just arrived at school on time (I know, shocking) and already I was fired up and ready to go. _Today is going to be a good day,_ I thought. _The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the world's sexiest man is walking my way. Yup. Life's good._

Fang smirked and wrapped his arms around me after pecking a kiss on my forehead. "Yes, yes it is." Startled, I looked up at him. _Can he read my thoughts or something?_

"No, you just happen to say everything that you're thinking out loud." His smirk turned to a dimpled grin. "And I agree, I _am_ the world's sexiest man."

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully. Turning around so that he couldn't see my smile, I began walking toward the school, but before I could get even halfway across the parking lot, Fang grabbed me by the hips, pushed me against a nearby wall, and kissed me with the ferocity of a hungry beast. Rustling my hands through his hair, I pulled him closer to me, wanting more of him. Fang's body pressed against mine and my breath hitched as he made his way from my mouth, to my cheek, to my neck…I bit my lip to stifle a moan.

"EW. YOU PEOPLE DISGUST ME." We jumped apart and turned in unison to find Iggy glaring daggers at us with his hands on his hips looking hella pissed. Mumbling apologies, we turned our eyes to the ground like scolded children. "Seriously, man. How many times do I have to tell you guys, no P.D.A.! You guys are almost as bad as Lissa and Dylan."

"Ugh, we are nothing like those two," Rolling my eyes and crossing my arms, I looked at Iggy with ridicule. "Unlike them, we actually _have_ a relationship. Those two aren't even friends with benefits, they're just plain-old fuck buddies."

"_Plus_," Fang added, "we're both saints." Fang glanced and saw my raised eyebrow and corrected himself. "Well, at least _one_ of us is a saint. Unless you want to change that…"

Wriggling his eyebrows at me, Fang tried to creep an arm around my waist but I flicked him in the forehead. "Don't even think about it, mister. Let's just get inside before we're locked out." Charging ahead, I lead the way into the school.

Snickering, Iggy easily caught up to me while Fang moped to my right. "At least we don't have to worry about that dumbass rule anymore." At this, Fang perked up.

"I know, right. Man, I can't believe that we're graduating today!" Oh, yea. Did I forget to mention that? As Fang said, today was the day that we were going to _finally_ graduate high school and officially be adults. It may sound awesome, but graduating high school is some scary shit.

"Let me guess, neither of you know what you're going to do with your lives," I looked at each of the two knuckleheads walking next to me.

"Nope."

"Not a clue."

"I figured as much." Sighing, I shook my head. I couldn't say I was surprised.

Iggy laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder. "And what about you, Maxie-Pad? Do _you_ have a plan for your future?"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? And yes, I do have a plan. I'm going to UC Davis to become a veterinarian." I flicked Iggy's arm, causing him to wince and get off me.

"A vet? _Really?_" Iggy narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down.

I stopped in my tracks, put my hands on my hips, and glared at him. "What's wrong with that?"

Seeing how I was on the offense, Iggy raised his hands in mock surrender. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with being a vet, it's just…you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I can't see you as the veterinarian type. You strike me more as a game changer rather than a clinic lady."

"First of all, who uses words such as game changer and clinic lady? Secondly, what do you mean by game changer?"

Holding up one finger, Iggy began ticking off the list forming in his head of things he wanted to say. "One: I use words like game changer and clinic lady. Two: Before you say it, NO, I don't think my vocabulary is limited. In fact, I think that it is very much good. Three: I picture you more as someone who would make a huge impact in the world. You know, as someone who fights against governments regarding global warming or someone who could lead a revolution or whatever. The sky's the limit, man. But you being a _veterinarian_…I just don't get it."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Iggy, none of that would ever happen. I mean, I'm all about stopping global warming and what not, but going against _governments_? Me? Ha, you're funny. And how on Earth would I lead a revolution when there's nothing to revolt against. It's not like some crazy scientists are experimenting on children and turning them into mutant freaks and pitting them against one another. I mean, seriously, Ig. Let's be real man. That stuff only happens in books. This is the real world where nothing like that sort ever happens. Trust me, becoming a veterinarian is the right choice for me. Besides, who else is supposed to look out for the little guys?"

Shaking his head, Iggy muttered, "You're impossible to understand."

"What I am is right. And what _you_ are is screwed if you don't figure out what you're going to do in life." I gave him a sideways glance that he pointedly avoided.

"Maxie-Pad, Maxie-Pad, Maxie-Pad," he said in a snarky, condescending voice he adopted that happened to somewhat resemble Dylan's. "I'll do what I do best: wing it."

"So are you seriously saying that you're going to wing you're way through life?" Fang asked incredulously.

"Yeah, man. I already got my pyrotechnic skills on point so what else do I need in life? Maybe I'll hang in Cali. for a while and see how the Hollywood scene treats me. Bet Michael Bay would pay me a shit ton of money to set things on fire."

"How much you wanna bet he'll land his ass in jail for arson in ten years?" Fang breathed into my ear.

"Make that five years." I whispered back.

He flashed me a toothy grin. "You're on."

Having overheard us, Iggy touched his hand to his heart and pretended to stumble. "I'm wounded that you two think so lowly of me. I would have thought that you'd know I'd run to Mexico and change my name to El Chapo if I ever got in a spot of trouble. Besides, _Fangie-Poo_. You have no room to talk." By this time we had moved our conversation into the classroom and we had taken our seats out of habit rather than obedience. "After all, you don't know what you're going to do either!"

"Isn't it obvious? Where ever Max goes, I'll follow. If she wants to go to California, I'll go to Cali. with her. If she wants to go to vet school, I'll go too."

"You're going to attend UC Davis with me?" I raised my eyebrows in shock and bewilderment.

"Hell no! I'll probably work at a nearby Starbucks or something. Me, go to veterinary school? I love you, but not_ that_ much!" Iggy burst into laughter as I slapped Fang upside the head.

"You may be cute and all, but being with me doesn't give you an excuse to slack on your education. If you wanna be my main dish, you gotta get a degree."

"UGH. FINE." Fang, being ever the moody teenager, slumped in his chair and glared at me. I smiled sweetly back.

"CLASS IT IS TIME TO LEARN, SO EVERYBODY SHUT UP," Ms. Flores, whose beginning-of-the-year niceness had evolved to end-of-the-year bitch mode, snapped at our class. Facing the front, we all more or less gave our attention to our teacher as she began the lesson.

Time seemed to move at a snail's pace. Everyone's attention was glued to the clock and the only thing going on in our heads was a countdown to when school let out, 'cause when that final bell rings, we would be free from this hell hole once and for all. Our official graduation ceremony wasn't for two more days, but since nobody wanted to waste another minute trapped in this coffin any more than they had to, the graduation ceremony was almost always deserted every year. It came to the point where it was an option to have your diploma mailed to you.

Anyway, the clock was ticking oh so slowly and at one point, I _swear_ that I saw the minute hand move back a step. When it _finally_ came to be 2:59, all the air in the room was stilled and the only sound was the ticking of the clock. That minute stretched forever and would have gone on for just as long if someone hadn't broken the silence.

"COME ON YOU DAMN CLOCK!" Dylan screamed, and just like that, time began to flow again, the final bell rang, and we were free once and for all.

People were standing on tables, breaking out their High School Musical dance moves, ripping up books notes, and just doing whatever they liked. Our teacher didn't even try to calm us down and instead walked out the room, shaking her head.

"Max!" Fang had to practically yell to be overheard over all the noise.

"Yea?" I asked.

"School's out!" He yelled as if I hadn't noticed. "You know what that means?"

"What?"

"NO RULES!" And he swooped me up in his arms and planted a big, fat, sexy-as-hell kiss on my unsuspecting lips. I could hear snickering in the background, but I ignored it and fell into the flame of passion erupting onto my lips. When we finally pulled apart, Fang said, "Happy Graduation Day, Max."

"Happy Graduation Day to you too, Fang," I breathed.

"Oh, and one more thing." Fang looked over my head at the rest of the crowd of people and spotted Dylan making out with Lissa. "OI, DYLAN!"

"What the hell do you want, you little fucktard?" Dylan replied, obviously irritated that Fang had interrupted he and Lissa's snog fest.

"In the spirit of new beginnings, I thought it would be a good thing to tell you that you might want to keep your thing in your pants when it comes down to Lissa. She has chlamydia!" Everyone within a five feet radius of Lissa took a step back, Dylan included. "You're welcome!"

Grabbing my hand and wrapping an arm around Iggy's shoulders playfully, Fang whisked us out of the classroom. On our way out, Lissa screamed, "FANG, YOU ASSHOLE!" To which I replied, "SUCK IT, BITCH!" A trail of laughter followed our departure.

"Dude, I'm pooped." Iggy collapsed onto Fang's bed. Me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Ella, Gazzy, Ari, and Angel had all met back at the Martinez house right after school ended. We were all planning to celebrate the end of the school year when Iggy decided to be a little bitch and whine about nothing.

"What do you mean, "you're pooped"? We just got out of school, like, thirty minutes ago?" Ella asked.

"I mean that I'm pooped. As in tired. As in lazy. As in not moving my ass another inch." Iggy haphazardly draped his arm over his eyes and shuffled around in Fang's sheets to become more comfortable.

"First of all, language. Second of all, we need to CELEBRATE and we can't do that if you're lying around proclaiming how POOPED you are." I didn't care that irritation was creeping into my voice because guess what: I was irritated.

"Can we celebrate tomorrow? I wanna sleep." Iggy threw a pillow at us and muttered some other nonsensical.

"NOT IN MY BED YOU AIN'T!" Fang yelled.

"IGGY IT'S ONLY THREE-THIRTY IN THE AFTERNOON." Nudge rolled her eyes.

"Goodnight." And with that, Iggy dozed off.

"Are you kidding me…?" Fang ran his hands through his hair in annoyance.

We all knew that there was absolutely no way to wake up Iggy when he was asleep. He wasn't exactly a heavy sleeper, but if you tried to wake him up before he was ready, it brought the worst in him and could quite possible land you in the hospital.

"Well…good luck with that, babe." I patted Fang on the back, and grabbed Ari's hand, and left their house.

"But…" Fang stuttered.

"Nice knowing you big bro," Gazzy, Nudge, and Ella also left.

"Wait…" Fang tried to get to them before they left but failed. Turning around in near defeat, Fang looked on at Angel. "Will you help me out?"

Angel just shrugged and said, "It's you're room," before bouncing out the door. Groaning, Fang threw himself down into the chair next to his bed in defeat.

Later that night, I was searching my phone contacts looking for who I would want to invite for a graduation party. Looking through the "C" section, my eyes landed on a contact that I had added a year before out of fear: Custody Lawyer. My mind flashed back to when I had first made that promise to Ari almost a year ago. A promise that I would whisk him away from a life of pain and suffering by the hands of our father, a life away from the lies and the secrets. I had promised him happiness, a joy I hadn't known at the time myself.

But so many things had changed in the past year that I would never have expected. Jeb wasn't an abusive asshat anymore and he turned out to be actually nice when he was sober. I fell in love and was finally happy. Ari's scars were beginning to heal over, both physical and emotional. I dare to think that everything would be okay.

_If everything is going to be all right, then why have this contact in your phone?_ The Voice in my head questioned me. _It's a backup plan_, I tried to reason with myself. But the more I tried to deny it, the more ridiculous I sounded to myself.

My hand moved to delete the contact, but my thumb hesitated over the trash can icon._ What if I need this?_ I thought to myself. _Don't be ridiculous, Max. There's no need to fix something that has already been healed._ The Voice in my head answered and I found my hesitation was gone as I pressed the button, deleting Custody Lawyer away from my phone forever. _No going back now,_ I thought. After all, I had gotten ahold of that guy about a year ago, and I had absolutely no way of finding him again. _Life doesn't come with safety nets_, the Voice told me. Nodding to myself, I shut off my phone and set it on my dresser. A wave of fatigue washed over me and I felt the urge to give into the obliviousness of sleep. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought again to myself, _No safety nets_.

If only I'd known that deleting my only safety net would kill me.

**I'M FINISHED! AND IT'S WEDNESDAY, MY DUDES! BUT YEA, I FINISHED THIS CHAPPY JUST FOR Y'ALL AND I HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE ENJOYED IT. REMEMBER TO R&amp;R BECAUSE I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, **_**LOVE,**_** HEARING FROM YOU GUYS. I hope you guys have an awesome, spectacular, amazing day, and remember:**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	19. Chapter 19

**HELLO MY PEEPS! How's everybody doing? I'm back with another chappy for you all so ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't owe anything.**

**18 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

The first day of summer vacation was supposed to be a happy occasion, one full of laughter, happiness, and romance. Instead the beginning of our independent lives marked the beginning of the end.

Summer started off with a sour note. The first day out of prison, aka school, Ari and I spent at home. We were finally free from the annoying responsibility of waking up early, so we overslept with pleasure. I had planned to sleep for a solid twenty-four hours, but Jeb had other plans.

I awoke to the sound of shattering glass and heavy, thudding footsteps. Immediately, I jerked awake and listened. After the brief eruption of noise, there was silence in my house. Careful to not make a sound, I crept out of my room and down the stairs. Peeking around the wall's corner, I saw Jeb standing in front of a broken vase, head in hands, body shaking from tears. For a moment, I just stared. I could never describe how terrified I was in that moment.

_Had he been drinking?_ I thought. However, this fear was momentarily dismissed when he lifted his head up and I caught a good look into his eyes. He had the same chocolate brown eyes as me that could be filled with joy in one moment and have mile high walls around our souls in the next. When Jeb had gotten drunk just months before, his eyes were always cloudy and somewhat glassy, almost as if he were staring right through you. In other words, he had the eyes of a dead man. But in that moment, I saw that his eyes were more than alert and his soul had been shook to the core.

I made a move to go back up the stairs and leave Jeb in this state, but that damn, crazed Voice in my head thought _There's no time like the present to have father-daughter bonding, am I right?_ And before I could rethink this and stop myself, I was walking down the stairs, stepping into view, and approaching Jeb.

"Jeb—Dad—er, _dude_, are you okay?" I asked as I came to stand in front of him.

Chuckling quietly at my awkward attempt to address him, he forced a smile onto his face and tried to secretly wipe the tears from his eyes. "Yeah, Maximum. I'm fine." At this, I crossed my arms and jutted out my hip. "Really, Max. It's nothing."

"Nothing, my ass. Look, I tried to do this the nice, concerned-daughter way, but if what upsets you has even the remote chance of you having one of your—your—your _episodes_, so help me God, I will—"

"Maximum! Calm down. I swore to you that I would never have one of my…_episodes_ again, and I am going to keep that promise. And although I may not have been doing the best job of it lately, I am still your father." Jeb looked like he wanted an apology and he sure as hell wasn't going to get one. Placing my hands on my hips, I stared my old man down until he sighed in defeat. Smirking, I made a _Go on_ motion with my hands. "Fine. You know how I work as a scientist for Itex?" I nodded. "Well, lately, they've had to make cuts to conserve on the outflow of expenses, so today I was…let go."

"YOU WERE FIRED!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Instant worries of how our family and Jeb were to survive without any money flowed through my mind over the course of a millisecond.

"Look, Max. I know you're worried, but I assure you. I will figure everything out, alright? There's no reason for you to be more of an adult than you have to be. I've slacked off enough, and it's time that I take control of situations. So sit back, relax, and be a teenager." I opened my mouth to protest but Jeb wasn't having it. "OKAY?"

"_Fiiiiiinnnnnneeeeeeeee." _I groaned. Turning around, I marched up the stairs, back into my room and flopped into bed.

If Jeb were a weather forecaster, then his predictions wouldn't even be in the same _state_ as the proverbial ball park consistently, just like his "premonition" that everything would be okay. Each day Ari and I watched Jeb walk out the door with an air of confidence befitting of a man on a mission, and each day Ari and I watched Jeb slouch back into the house bearing the weight of defeat. It was a pathetic display to watch, one that repeated over and over again throughout those first few days of summer. It came to the point that Jeb's confidence gradually shrank overtime so that he slouched both in and out the door. His chocolate, vibrant eyes faded to a dull greyish-brown, eerily resembling the eyes of the drunken madman he once was. Every time I thought about it, I shuddered.

For reasons I'll never understand, I no longer felt that it was entirely safe in the house for me and Ari. As often as I could, I would have us hang out at Fang's house. Call it woman's intuition, paranoia, superstition, whatever the hell you like, but whenever we were there, I felt like I could breathe again without feeling suffocated. Or maybe I just liked being with my boyfriend. Either way, you won't find me complaining.

"Hey, Max." I snapped out of my thoughts and landed my attention back on said boyfriend. Glancing to my right, I saw Ari talking with Angel and let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding. Once again, we were at Fang's house and he had been telling me about how he was trying to buy this sick new motorcycle he saw in the shop the today.

"So I met with El Chapo the other day." Fang raised his eyebrows and cocked his head at me.

"That's nice, babe." I said absent mindedly as I tried to reign my thoughts in.

"Are you even listening to me?" He didn't sound angry, just concerned, which was the final pull I needed to give him my full attention.

"Yeah." I nodded my head, trying to sound convincing, even though I wasn't fooling anyone. "So, you were saying you met El Chapo the other day?"

"Max…" Fang looked me dead in the eyes and held my gaze. "Is everything okay? And don't try to hide it. I know you too well, Maximum Ride."

The way he said my name and looked me in the eyes—into my soul—I could tell that he could see right through me and into all my secrets. "It's nothing, I swear." Fang rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He didn't buy it. Hell, _I _wouldn't buy it. "Really, Fang. It's nothing. I'm just making a mountain out of a mole hill, that's all."

"In order for there to be a mole hill to make a mountain out of, there has to be a problem. Spill."

_Wise words from a kid just out of high school_, I thought to myself. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a wad. But like I said, it's nothing really. I just feel a little uneasy, that's all."

"Uneasy? What do you mean?" Fang leaned forward and studied me more closely.

"I mean…I feel like something bad is gonna happen, you know." I shrugged awkwardly, not finding the correct words to express how I felt without spilling the specific "beans" that I didn't want to spill.

"No, I really don't know. Are you feeling nervous about college and stuff?" Fang cocked his head to the side and arched his right eyebrow.

"No, it's just…it's just hard to explain, that's all." In frustration, I got up and walked out of the living room, up the stairs, and into Fang's room. Sitting on his bed, I placed my head in my hands and closed my eyes. Soon afterward, I heard footsteps and for once I knew that Fang was standing next to me without having to look up. The sound of squeaking springs followed the slight sinking in the bed as Fang sat next to me. I felt his warm hand rubbing my back up and down. "Talk to me, Max. Please." His feathery breath whispered in my ear, causing a slight ripple of chill to creep wherever his hands touched my back.

Sighing, I ran my hands through my hair, sat up, and looked at him. I opened my mouth, but hesitated. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell Fang anything or that I didn't trust him, it's just that I was so used to hiding things from people that honesty no longer came easily. I had to push it out of my system violently, and the scarier the reality was, the more pain I felt to say it. Telling Fang about my father was the ultimate infliction of discomfort. And no matter how badly I wanted to tell Fang everything, my yearning for painlessness was much stronger. So I did the only thing I could do, the only thing I was good at. I lied.

"Like I said before, it's nothing really. I feel uneasy and worried, like…like something _bad_ is going to happen. I know I'm just making a big deal out of nothing, but I can't help but feel…sick to my stomach." Technically I hadn't lied, just withheld some of the truth.

Fang knitted his eyebrows together. "Is there a reason why you're feeling like that?"

"Um, well…like I said before, it's no big deal, but a little while ago, my dad lost his job.

"WHAT?!" Fang's eyes ballooned to popping size, and I was afraid that they were going to do just that.

**FANG POV**

"WHAT?!" I could feel my eyes growing to the size of watermelons and I was pretty sure that if a gentle breeze blew against them, they would burst into a million pieces.

"_Calm. Down._ Like I said, it's no big deal." Max tried to soothe me by holding my hand, but I shot off my bed and whirled around at her.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN _CALM DOWN_? THIS IS NOT A SITUATION TO BE CALM ABOUT!" Generally, I'm not much of a worry-wart, but I could feel the hairs on my neck rise and goosebumps forming.

"FANG. CHILL. OUT. IF I'M NOT WORRIED, THEN YOU SURE AS HELL SHOULDN'T BE." Great. Now I'd made her mad. Just perfect.

Flopping down back on my bed, I grumbled, "Sorry."

Sighing, Max just shook her head. "It's alright. And like I've been trying to tell you this entire time, I'm not worried. You see, my dad is a bioengineer and I'd bet businesses are lining up left and right to hire him."

_Yeah, like it's that simple_, I scoffed to myself. I opened my mouth to say just that, but right as the first word was coming out, I paused. Narrowing my eyes, I examined Max, watching her face, seeing her reactions, studying everything about her. I realized two things. One of which was the normal vibe I constantly got off her that she was hiding something. The other thing was much more alarming. She was scared.

I've seen Max scared before. I've seen her get scared over mid-terms and finals, over future plans and headaches, over relationships and me. But on those rare moments that I've seen her _truly_ scared, she has this look on her face. Her eyes crinkle, her smile is too wide, her nose is slightly flared, and her eyebrows twitch. And studying her face now, I could see that she wasn't just scared—she was terrified.

Taking her hands in mine, I leaned close and looked deep into her eyes. "Max. Please. Let me help you." I could see her façade waver, her walls crumble slightly. I pushed on. "Tell me what's wrong." Just as I felt her walls finally begin to fully give way, I sensed her resolve fortify in strength, and her walls became much, much higher, too high for even me to climb in one go.

"Like I said, I'm just a little worried about my dad, that's all. It's no big deal." Shrugging her shoulders, she stood up and began to walk out of my room. I felt an urge to stand up and grab her, never let her go, protect her from whatever it was that was going on, shield her from any pain. But it was obvious that she didn't want me to do any of that. Or she couldn't. Either way, she'd tell me when she was ready, or not at all. I just hoped that it wouldn't be too late.

As she was about to open the door, she paused. Talking over her shoulder, she said, "Fang. I need you to promise me one—no two things."

"Sure. Whatever you like." I stood up and slowly walked towards her.

"First of all, Ari doesn't know about Jeb's joblessness, so could you keep it between us?" I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at that, but who was I to judge.

"Alright. Consider my lips sealed." By then, I was standing next to her. "What's the second promise?" I said gently.

"The second promise is…a bit more complicated." Once again, Max paused. She took a deep breath and continued. "If I'm right and something bad _does_ happen, I want you to promise me that you'll take care of Ari."

"Max, that's goes without saying-"

"I _know_ that you'll _look out_ for him, but what I want you to promise me is that you'll _take care_ of him." Max whirled around to look at me, and the look on her face spoke volumes.

"What, do you mean "take care of him" as in take him in?" Now my brows were sky high and pushing past the limit. "Max it won't come to that."

"You don't know that!" Max yelled.

"But I do!" I countered. "I promise you, this time next week, your dad's gonna have an even better job and your family will be living the dream."

**MAX POV**

"I know that you'll _look out_ for him, but what I want you to promise me is that you'll _take care_ of him." My body felt like it was in slow motion compared to my thoughts. I didn't want to _say_ my worries out loud for fear that they'll come true—and also a fear of a hell called "foster care"—but I didn't want to leave Ari unprotected and vulnerable. Although I liked to paint myself as the invincible older sister, but I was really just the pathetic teenage girl who was way out of her league. An inner war inside of me was waging and it was unclear which side was winning.

_I need to tell him._ I thought to myself. _If I don't tell him now, it might be too late. Besides, if I don't tell him, he'll be more than mad; he'll be crushed._

_You can't protect everyone, Max_, the inner Voice inside of me rang out like the tempting voice of Satan.

Pushing my conflicting thoughts aside, I refocused on the task at hand. Like I said, I needed to know that I could depend on Fang to look out for Ari and shelter him if need be.

"What, do you mean "take care of him" as in take him in?" I could see Fang's eyebrows shoot up almost as fast as basketball players get their growth spurts. "Max it won't come to that." Why was he trying to console me when I was inconsolable? Didn't he see that his efforts were pointless, that there was no way to "fix" my situation with pretty words and empty promises? I didn't need a hug or a kiss, despite how good Fang was at both of these. What I needed was a safety net, something to ensure that I wouldn't have to be stressed out of my mind with worry over Ari. Something that sounded eerily similar to an empty promise, built on hopes and dreams of things that don't quite make the cut to reality. But what else was I supposed to do, huh? There was no time for moping around hoping for the best. The best that _I_ could do was make an empty promise or two. But this knowledge still didn't help me keep my temper in check.

"You don't know that!" I yelled.

"But I do!" Fang countered. "I promise you, this time next week, your dad's gonna have an even better job and your family will be living the dream." I don't know what I was expecting him to say, but it sure as hell wasn't that. And I guess it showed on my face because Fang's hopeful look gave way once again to worry over me. "Hey. Like I said, everything will be okay. I'll look out for Ari."

"_Promise_ me." My voice cracked. I could feel my walls faltering once again and all I needed was a simple "I promise" so that I could be on my way before I embarrassed myself by breaking down into tears.

"I promise. I swear on my life that I'll take care of Ari in the case of an emergency and that I will protect you." I was about to open my mouth to tell him not to joke around about this, but when I looked into his eyes, I could tell that he was taking this very seriously. His dark eyes were steely and his tone had morphed from worry to resolve. Smiling slightly to myself, I told myself that I could relax, breathe, and not worry. But for some reason, I couldn't squeeze out a single breath or lift any of the weight of my anxiety. Pretty soon, my smile disappeared as well, drowning under a sea of worries and resurfacing troubles.

_You're a dead man walking, Maximum_, the Voice inside of me whispered, and a chill rippled violently throughout my body.

Avoiding eye contact, I mumbled, "Thank you" and gently shoved past Fang out the door, into the hallway, and down the stairs. Before I knew it, I was calling for Ari and rushing him out the door, mumbling how we had to get home before dinner. Even though I was _supposed_ to feel relieved and happy, I didn't. I just felt dead inside.

That was three weeks ago. Three weeks before I fell into a mild depression. Three weeks before Ari complained nonstop about being suffocated in the house and not seeing Angel. Three weeks before Jeb bought his first few cans of booze. And it was all downhill from there, all the way down to the darkest recess of hell.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**So…yeah. Cliffhangers, you gotta love 'em! For all those people out there in the world wondering why writers have cliffhangers, the answer is simple: because we love messing with people! Yeah, we're assholes, but you still buy our books! Anywhoooooo…So I hoped y'all liked this chappy! Warning for the next couple of chappies: things are going to get VERY dark VERY fast. Can't wait! I love hearing from you guys and I wanna hear MORE so if you love reading this as much as I love writing this, say so in the comments or DM me. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE follow and favorite this fanfic and I hope you guys come back for more! And since I'm on summer vacation now, I can actually WRITE! YAYYYYYYY! So yeah, I love you all and have an AWESOME, SPECTACULAR, NOT-SO-DARK-AND-GRIM DAY!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


	20. Chapter 20

**HELLO MY PEEPS! How are all y'all doin'?! Well, I'm back with another chappy for you guys and I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: FUCK. YOU. DISCLAIMER.**

**18 DAYS BEFORE DEATH**

**CONTINUATION…**

Three weeks. Three weeks of no Fang, three weeks of growing fears, and three weeks of watching Jeb fall back into old habits.

Booze.

At first he didn't bring home a lot of it, just one or two bottles every once in a while. But once his slump hit, I'd see him trudging into the house, three cases in his hands, pointedly averting eye contact with me. I can't say I was surprised. If he had looked at me, he probably would have seen how my eyes were full of rage and run for the hills. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And I had good reason to be. Jeb—may the devil condemn him—was a lying, cheating, back stabbing, betraying, worthless piece of shit who was a complete waste of space and everything else synonymous with the word "asshole". He had wormed his way into Ari's heart and now he was breaking it into a million pieces.

"Max." Ari whimpered. I looked up and to my right to see Ari staring through the railway at Jeb, cradling his booze like a child. Taking one final glance at my old man, I ran up the stairs and crouched by Ari's side.

"I'm here, Ari. Let's go into your room, okay? We can do something productive, like, like read a book!" Before he could protest, I grabbed his hand and dragged him into his room. Shutting the door, I tried to shut out Jeb, shield him from Ari, keep him from hurting him. But as much as I tried, I couldn't protect Ari as much as I wanted to. After all, how can you protect someone from breaking when their hearts already broken?

But you can't say I didn't try.

With an enthusiasm that I didn't know I possessed—and if anyone else was as enthusiastic as I was in that moment, I probably would have hated them on the spot—I grabbed a book that I had loved when I was his age, a book I still loved to this day. Cracking it open, I looked expectantly at Ari. He had been pacing and he paused in his mission to make a hole in the rug to hold my gaze. Sighing overdramatically, he resigned to his fate of reading, and plopped next to me on his bed.

"The Cat in the Hat," I read aloud to him. "The cat in the hat is a mysterious cat, who knows pretty much everything and all of that! He loves to…" And from there I droned on, telling about a pedophilistic, know-it-all cat who loved to mess with stuck up children for his own enjoyment and "pleasure". Oh, did I say that I loved this book? What I meant was that I loved _burning _books like these for their crimes humanity! But I digress.

By the end of the first sentence, I had had enough of this to last a life-time, but for Ari's sake, I forged on with this torturous book. By the end of the sixth page, however, it seemed that Ari was done too.

"Why the hell are we reading this dumb book?!" In his anger, Ari slapped the book out of my hands, and stood up.

I was shocked. I'd never seen Ari get mad like this. Unfortunately, it got worse. "Ari watch your language!" I said.

"Why should I? I mean, it's not like this family isn't going to hell, because it is Max, it is! You may not see it or you may not think that _I_ see it, but I do!" Ari was giving me a death glare worse than any I could have ever made. It wasn't just the anger resonating from him that caused a chill to run through me, it was the fact that those angry eyes had once looked at me with expressions of love and support, not anger and rage. "I know that Jeb lost his job and now he's a boozer again, I know that I'm terrified, and I know that we're cooped up in this God forsaken house when you should be honoring your promise!"

I didn't know what to say to all of that except, "What promise?"

For a moment, Ari's face relaxed, the calm before the storm. Then his expression morphed into rage I had hoped to never see on him. "I HATE YOU!" Shoving past me, he ran out of the house. I flinched upon hearing the door slam shut. I waited for Jeb to yell because of the noise, but he was too drunk to care, I suppose. I waited for Ari to come back and run into my arms crying for forgiveness, but he was too drunk with rage to do so. This left me alone with my thoughts, regrets, and tears.

_Promise?_ I thought to myself. _What promise?_ I couldn't recall what exactly Ari was talking about. There were so many promises I had made to him. Promises that we'd go for ice cream, promises to help him with his homework, promises that everything would be okay, promises that we'd be safe. Empty promises, all of them. And although my head was overflowing with these empty promises, I couldn't think of the one that really mattered.

I waited for hours for Ari to come back. I was waiting as Jeb fell asleep from his drunken stupor. I was waiting as midnight came and gone. I was waiting as the sun rose over the horizon, proclaiming a new day. And I was still waiting when the doorbell rang.

Thinking that it was Ari, I raced downstairs. Looking to my left, I saw that Jeb was still sleeping in the kitchen, with his head down on the table and big, heaving snores erupting from his throat. With a tad bit more caution, I fast walked to the door and swung it open. Standing in front of me, wearing ripped, dark jeans, a tight t-shirt, leather jacket, and looking sexy (per usual) was Fang. I couldn't help but to sag with disappointment. Unfortunately, Fang noticed.

"Oh," I said awkwardly. "Uh, hi, Fang. I was, er, expecting someone else." Not the smoothest thing I could've said, but then again, I'm not the smoothest person.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Fang grumbled.

I sighed heavily and rubbed my face with my hands. "Sorry. That came out wrong."

"How else was it supposed to come out? It sounded _perfectly_ fine to me." So Mr. Sunshine was all dark clouds today, huh? Well two could play that game.

"Did you come here for a reason or to just brood?" Folding my arms over my chest, I stared him down.

His frown deepened, but then he just shrugged and started to walk away. "I guess you don't want me to take you to your brother…?"

My heart stopped. "What?" Within a moment, I had forgotten my stubbornness and rushed out to Fang. "You know where he is?"

Trying to hide that know-it-all smirk of his, he said, "Yeah. He showed up at my house in the middle of the night, crying. He said that you two had had a fight and that he couldn't go home."

"Take me to him."

Fang looked at me and gave me a smile. There's the adorably, snarky pearly whites of his that I loved. "I thought you'd never ask."

The walk to Fang's house was awkward, filled with silence and uncomfortable glances at each other. The two of us reminded me of a pair of awkward ducklings, neither of us knowing what to say or what to do except to walk.

When we arrived at Fang's house, I was relieved, and not just because I'd be able to see Ari. "Where is he?" I asked as we stepped inside.

"Upstairs in my room." As I was about to run up the stairs, Fang grabbed my arm. "Just…be careful what you say, Max. I know you mean well, but sometimes you say and do things that can irritate even the calmest of people. And the kid's pretty upset, so…"

"I know. And I will." I was happy to see that Fang wasn't taking his promise lightly. Smiling my reassurance, I tread up the stairs lightly and walked to Fang's door. Pausing, I took a deep breath and knocked. "Ari? Are you in there?" Silence. "It's me, Max." Some more silence. "I'm gonna come in-"

"NO." I stopped just short of turning the knob. "I don't want to see you." Ari's voice was muffled through the oak wood door, but I could still tell that he had been crying.

"I just want to talk," I would have sounded soothing, if not for my voice faltering.

"I don't want to talk to you either."

"Then just listen okay?" Silence. "I know that you're upset and you have every right to be. I've been a lousy protector and an even lousier sister to you lately. I've hid things from you, I've lied to you, I've made empty promises to you. I told myself that I was protecting you, but I never realized—I never wanted to realize how grown you are, and you don't need to be protected from the truth anymore. I know that now. And I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize it." By this point, Fang had shuffled behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder for support. I nodded my gratitude to him and he nodded back.

Silence. Then came thudding footsteps and I could tell that Ari was right at the door. If he'd only just open it…

"If you're really sorry, then you'll keep your promise!" I could hear Ari shouting through the door and it broke my heart. "Oh wait, you forgot what it was, didn't you!"

"Ari, please open the door. Let me talk to you-"

"NO! ALL YOU EVER DO IS TALK, IN FACT YOU'RE JUST THAT: TALK! YOU SAY YOU'LL PROTECT ME, BUT YOU CAN'T EVEN PROTECT YOURSELF!" Ari swung open the door and I finally saw his tear streaked face. "I DON'T NEED THAT KIND OF SHITTY PROTECTION! I'D BE BETTER ON MY OWN!"

_SMACK!_ Ari's head whipped to the side and a red, hand-shaped splotch formed on his cheek. I lowered my hand and stared Ari down. I could feel that my eyes were steely and my voice was even and without emotion as I said, "No, you wouldn't be. But if you feel like proving me wrong, then by all means go ahead." I stepped aside and indicated for Ari to walk past me. Reluctantly, he did so. When he paused, I snapped, "Go." Hanging his head low, he trudged down the stairs. "Fang would you give us a moment?" He nodded and stepping inside his room and shut the door. Ari was nearly out the door when I said, "But before you go, let me ask you something." He paused. "Where will you go? You and I both know that you can't go back to the house. It's not safe for either of us there. So where will you go?"

"Anywhere but here." Ari whispered.

"How, with what money?"

"I don't know."

"What will you do once you get "anywhere but here"?"

"I don't know."

"Where will you live?"

"I don't know!"

"How will you survive-?"

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!" Ari's eyes were crazed and he was breathing heavy. I knew that look well enough. He was having a slight panic attack. _Time to seal the deal, Max_, the Voice said.

Walking down the stairs towards him, I said softly, "I don't know either, you know. You may think I do, but I don't. I'm as clueless as you are." Standing next to him, I practically towered over the poor kid. "But what I _do_ know is that we need each other, you and I. We need to stick together, and we need to get the hell out of here."

At this, Ari's head jerked up and he looked at me incredulously. "You mean it? Are we really leaving?" He searched my face as I nodded. I don't know what he saw, but whatever it was convinced him otherwise. "No, you couldn't possibly leave, could you…" His head hung down again and he walked out of the house.

"What are you talking about?" I had said we were leaving, hadn't I? "I promised you that we would go, so we'll go."

"No, we're not." Ari slouched down the sidewalk like a defeated man—er, boy.

"What makes you so sure of that?" I placed my hands on my hips and I was growing tired of all this sulking.

"BECAUSE OF HIM!" Ari screamed.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Him? You mean Fang? What about him?"

"You wouldn't leave him behind and he wouldn't leave his family behind, so the both of you would stay, which means that I would have to stay too." Ari's puppy dog eyes were in full bloom and it seemed almost like he wasn't asking _me_ for anything, but that he was begging his tears not to show. Too late for that.

"Ari…" I didn't know what to say.

"I'm right, aren't I? I've always known." Tears spilled down his cheeks and his little shoulders shuddered. I silenced his sobs with a hug.

"No, Ari, you're wrong. We're leaving." Ari pulled away to look at me skeptically. "I mean it. Even though you're right that I don't want to leave Fang, you're wrong about one thing: I always put you first. Not Fang, not Fang's family, not my own feelings. You are my responsibility, so therefore you are my priority." I felt tears spill down my own cheeks. "I love Fang, but I love you more, and you know why?"

"Why?" Ari hiccupped.

"Because you're my favorite brother."

"I'm your _only_ brother, Max."

Standing up, I ruffled his hair. "That's the beauty in it, little bro."

Wiping stray tears from his cheeks, Ari asked, "When do we leave?"

"The night of my eighteenth birthday."

"Alright!" As we walked down the sidewalk back to our house, Ari did little jigs and hops and skips and jumps for all of his excitement.

"But one more thing, Ari. You can't tell anyone that we're leaving."

Ari stopped midstride and gave me a puzzled look. "Why?"

"Because we can't tell anyone that we're running away or else we'll get caught."

"Well…you don't know that." Ari's rebound back to positivity always astounded me.

"Remember the last time we had a "family trip" with Jeb?" Just the memory of said occasion sent a tremor throughout my body. Looking at Ari, I could see that the memory had the same effect on him. "Do you want to repeat that?"

"No." Ari hung his head in defeat. "So does that mean we can't say goodbye to anyone?" I shook my head sadly. "Not even Angel, or Fang?"

It pained me to say it, but "No. Not even them. I'm sorry, Ari, but that's just the way it has to be."

He looked like he was about to say something, but Ari shook in sadness and said, "I understand."

We walked in silence the rest of the way home. There was nothing left to say except for the one thing we couldn't say: goodbye. That night we began packing. We were set to leave in a week.

**SO THAT'S MY CHAPPY FOR ALL Y'ALL PEOPLES. TWO CHAPPIES IN TWO DAYS IS PRETTY GOOD I THINK SO BE GRATEFUL! JK, JK. Anywhoooooo…I hope you guys liked this chappy and if you did, don't forget to R&amp;R and F&amp;F. I HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!**

**Watch the skies,**

**Doctor Bessy**


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